Cristiano Ronaldo leaves in tears after defeat against Morocco

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Cristiano Ronaldo left the pitch in tears after Portugal's shocking departure from the World Cup in Qatar as they suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Morocco.

The 37-year-old, who can turn his attention towards finding a new club, came to Qatar with dreams of a glorious farewell to the tournament he has graced five times.

Morocco were having none of that narrative, though, and their historic victory at Al Thumama Stadium on Saturday made them Africa's first World Cup semi-finalists, the first time an African country have won in the quarterfinals stage in four attempts.

Ronaldo's pain was vivid, and tears were rolling down from his eyes when he was escorted towards Portugal's dressing room.

He made history in Qatar by becoming the first player to score in five World Cup tournaments, having netted in each edition since 2006. That landmark goal was a penalty in the group stage against Ghana.

But for all his achievements in the game, Ronaldo will not go down as a true World Cup great. At the club level, the Portugal star is one of the greats. His illustrious career with Sporting CP, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus has seen him score a plethora of goals and win numerous titles. But in the World Cup, he hasn't managed to score once in eight attempts.

Ronaldo will be 41 when global football sets its feast again in 2026. And it looks like it will be beyond him to continue till then. Ronaldo has said Euro 2024 as his international target but even that seems a bit out of reach given his decline in form and overall career graph.

Ronaldo's contract at Manchester United was terminated after an interview surfaced the player criticising the club and their manager. It is to be seen where the legendary player ends up plying his trade when the window opens in January.

Against Morocco, as versus Switzerland at the last-16 stage, Ronaldo was only a substitute. He came off the bench early in the second half of the quarter-final, with Portugal needing a goal, but had just 10 touches of the ball and one shot.

It has reached tributes time for Ronaldo's career, with the FIFA World Cup's Portuguese Twitter page posting, "A myth. A legend. A machine. Thank you @Cristiano."

(With inputs from Omnispiort)