Cristiano Ronaldo's World Cup legacy: Portugal icon needs a tournament to match his legendary status in 2026

Ronaldo had arrived in Qatar characteristically confident of not only silencing his critics after a shamefully shambolic end to his second spell at Manchester United, but also winning the one trophy to have eluded him.

However, he departed in much the same manner as his Old Trafford exit, with his reputation tarnished by public displays of petulance and reports that he had privately threatened to leave the Portuguese camp after being dropped for the last-16 clash with Switzerland - which Fernando Santos' side won 6-1 thanks to a hat-trick from Ronaldo's replacement, Goncalo Ramos.

"I just want everybody to know that a lot has been said, a lot has been written, a lot has been speculated about, but my dedication to Portugal has never wavered for an instant," Ronaldo wrote in his social media post. "I was always just one more player fighting for everyone's goal and I would never turn my back on my team-mates and my country."

"For now," he added, "there's not much more to say. Thank you, Portugal. Thank you, Qatar. The dream was beautiful while it lasted... Now, we have to let time be a good adviser and allow everyone to draw their own conclusions."

The Portuguese Football Federation (PFF), for their part, concluded that it was "the right moment to start a new cycle" with a new coach - but there was to be no new captain.

When Roberto Martinez was appointed Santos' successor on January 9, 2003, he had a glorious opportunity to build an exciting young side around Portugal's plethora of potential superstars. He didn't take it, though.

In his first significant act as the Seleccao's coach, Martinez instead elected to fly to Saudi Arabia to convince Ronaldo to lead Portugal towards - and into - Euro 2024. It proved a predictably disastrous decision.

Ronaldo scored freely during Euros qualifying, but didn't find the back of the net once in Germany - despite taking more shots than any other outfield player. Worse still, his attempts to break his duck became as counter-productive as they were embarrassing.

It was clear that Ronaldo needed to be taken out of the firing line, but the weak-willed Martinez even refused to drop the faltering forward for Portugal's final, meaningless group game, effectively prioritising the indulgence of an individual over the good of the group.

Consequently, the pressure on the captain only intensified after another goal-less outing in a humiliating 2-0 loss to Georgia - and it eventually became even too much for Ronaldo to bear after missing a penalty in the last-16 showdown with Slovenia.

At half-time in extra-time in Frankfurt, one of the finest players in football history broke down. It was a staggering sight. Tears had been shed in Qatar, but after Portugal's exit - not during one of their games.

The weight of expectancy had clearly become too much for the quintessential clutch player - and it wasn't that difficult to work out why. A living legend had become a liability. After years spent heroically carrying his team-mates, they were now carrying him. And it was too much for the proud Portuguese to take.

It was, thus, difficult not to feel some degree of sympathy for the struggling striker - followed by admiration for him even stepping up to take the first spot-kick in the shootout, let alone converting it.

Martinez has long been a master of misdirection, a coach who always talks a great game, even after a poor performance, so it was inevitable that he would focus on Ronaldo's commendable courage in his post-match press conference, rather than the horror-show that preceded it - and his role in it.

What was even less surprising was that he would stick to his blatantly flawed game plan in the quarter-final clash with France, with Ronaldo starting up top.

Doing the same thing over and over again obviously failed to yield a different result and Portugal were eliminated on penalties by a dreadfully ineffective France side, after their toiling talisman had drawn yet another blank. At that point, the wisdom of persisting with both Martinez and Ronaldo became the subject of a national debate. As one memorable headline implored, "More Portugal, less Ronaldo!"

Even during the Seleccao's impressive run of results in the 2024-25 Nations League, there were rumours that the FPF's newly elected president, Pedro Proenca, was leaning towards sacking Martinez after the finals in Germany and replacing him with Jose Mourinho.

Ronaldo was unsurprisingly annoyed by the constant speculation surrounding Martinez, who was effectively responsible for prolonging his international career.

"Questioning someone who has a spectacular record for Portugal confuses me," he said just before the Nations League final against Spain. "There has been a bit of a lack of respect in this regard. Talking about other coaches does not make sense either. The coach has done an extraordinary job.

"Even when you win, there is this debate, but it is part of the parrots who are at home and give their opinion. What we have to say is that we are very happy with the work that the coach has done, because arriving with a different nationality, speaking our language, singing our anthem with a passion that I see, that is what I value most. The rest doesn't matter at all.

"The results are very positive, regardless of whether we win or not. There will always be debate, but, for me, it makes no sense at all."

After defending Martinez off the field, Ronaldo then rescued him on it.

He netted the winner in the Nations League semi-final win over Germany before striking again in the tournament-decider against Spain, which Portugal won on penalties. Basically, Martinez had risked his job (and what was left of his reputation) on Ronaldo - and the gamble belatedly paid off.

However, the doubts over the wisdom of continuing to rely on Ronaldo haven't gone away.

Martinez says that he sees "no signs that Ronaldo's level has dropped since he moved to Saudi Arabia" - but that's kind of missing the point.

The superstar's super-human powers had begun to decline long before he joined Al-Nassr in January 2023 - and that's not a criticism. Ronaldo had done incredibly well to fend off Father Time until well into his thirties, and the mere fact that he's presently preparing for his sixth World Cup finals is testament to his arguably unparalleled commitment to his craft.

Indeed, one would be hard pressed to think of a player that puts in more effort off the field. The problem now, of course, is that Ronaldo is no longer capable of working particularly hard on it.

There aren't many strikers operating at the highest level these days that do next-to-no pressing, making Ronaldo something of an anomaly in the modern game, and there's a very valid argument to be made that Portugal would be better served by having a more mobile attacker leading the line.

It certainly didn't feel like a coincidence that the Seleccao produced their most impressive performance of World Cup qualifying with Ramos once again playing up front in a 9-1 rout of Armenia that Ronaldo missed through suspension.

Of course, the nature of Ronaldo's ban also points to another potential problem in North America.

Ronaldo's probably a serial winner because he hates losing so much. However, while he's always been prone to petulance, he's become increasingly irritable as he's gotten older.

There were also a lot of temper tantrums during his three-and-a-half year pursuit of a major honour at Al-Nassr. Earlier this year, he even went on strike as he believed that the Saudi Pro League was conspiring against his club, which only reinforced the perception that Ronaldo still can't handle it when things don't go his way - and that should be a concern for Portugal supporters going into the World Cup.

Remember, the Seleccao skipper shouldn't even be available for the country's opening group games, after being shown a straight red card for senselessly lashing out at Dara O'Shea in last November's qualifying loss to Ireland.

However, FIFA took the extraordinary decision to suspend the second and third games of the usually mandatory three-match ban, meaning he's clear to face both DR Congo and Uzbekistan, providing Ronaldo with a glorious chance to make a high-scoring start to his final finals.

There's no shaking the suspicion, though, that his desperation could become an issue when the going inevitably gets tough in the knockout stage.

For all of the media's preoccupation with Ronaldo, he undoubtedly puts himself under more pressure than anybody else. He is the ultimate perfectionist, nothing less than the very best is ever good enough, making victory imperative.

For example, his move to the Middle East may have been motivated mainly by money, but it was obvious just how much winning this season's Pro League meant to him as the tears once again began to flow before the end of last month's clash with Damac - only this time because he was so happy, and perhaps also relieved, at having effectively secured the title with his second goal of the game.

In that sense, it's actually hard to overestimate the significance of the upcoming World Cup to Ronaldo, because this really is his last dance on the grandest stage of all. Despite rumours that he wants to play at the next tournament in 2030 along side his son, Cristiano Jr, he's simply not going to get another chance to leave an indelible mark on the most prestigious tournament in football.

Ronaldo's unquestionably one of the finest footballers of all time, but the five-time Ballon d'Or winner has only featured in one semi-final and never scored a single goal in the knockout stage. For that very reason, his World Cup legacy is very much on the line in North America, meaning the burden on his back will feel heavier than ever before.

The good thing is, though, that the load will be lightened significantly by those around him - because while we may be looking at the weakest version of Ronaldo we've even seen, he's part of the strongest squad in Seleccao history.

In Vitinha, Joao Neves and Bruno Fernandes, Portugal boast the best midfield trio in world football, while the reliable Diogo Costa is protected by an outstanding defence marshalled by Manchester City's Ruben Dias and featuring the fantastic Nuno Mendes at left-back.

With Bernardo Silva still knocking about, there is also no shortage of experience or quality in attack either, even if there are ongoing doubts over the likes of Joao Felix and Rafael Leao ever realising their full potential.

Much still hinges on Ronaldo, though. He's been selected because he's still scoring goals in qualifying games, Nations League matches and the Saudi Pro League - and that's no mean feat. But the challenge is for him to prove he can still cut it at the very highest level at 41 years of age.

It's also essential that he keeps his composure, and not just in front of goal. Portugal really need Ronaldo to keep his emotions in check when the pressure once again ramps up in the knockout rounds, and that won't be easy based on how tightly he's been wound up over the past four years.

Of course, the fact that he wants to win the World Cup so badly is not necessarily a bad thing. His drive and determination have long been a source of inspiration to team-mates that are united in their desire to "win the World Cup with Ronaldo, and for Ronaldo", as Vitinha put it, and they're rightly ranked among the favourites.

Whether or not a team attaching so much importance to an individual is debatable - and yet entirely understandable. Ronaldo has been much more than a great player for Portugal; he's long since become a symbol of the Seleccao. He's also gone through an awful lot to get to this point.

He's pushed his body and mind to the absolute limit over the past four years in pursuit of a fairy-tale finish, so while it's impossible to say if his sacrifice will pay off, one thing is clear: no matter how Ronaldo's dream ends, there will be tears.