Cristiano Ronaldo insisted his commitment to Portugal never wavered after he reacted to their World Cup exit and the end of the “biggest dream of my career”.
The former Manchester United forward was in tears after his country’s 1-0 quarter-final defeat to Morocco on Saturday.
He started Portugal’s three group games before being dropped for the last-16 win over Switzerland.
Reports in Portugal suggested he threatened to quit the tournament after being axed but, with national team coach Fernando Santos having already denied that was the case, the 37-year-old took to Instagram on Sunday to reaffirm his own position.
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Ronaldo, without a club after leaving United last month following his controversial interview with Piers Morgan, did not speak about his future with Euro 2016 winners Portugal but wrote: “Winning a World Cup for Portugal was the biggest and most ambitious dream of my career.
“Fortunately I won many titles, including for Portugal, but putting our country’s name on the highest foot in the world was my biggest dream.
“I fought for it. I fought hard for this dream. I gave my all. Leave it all out on the field. I never turned my face to the fight and I never gave up on that dream.
“Sadly yesterday the dream ended. It’s not worth reacting to heat. I just want you all to know that much has been said, much has been written, much has been speculated, but my dedication to Portugal hasn’t changed for a moment.
“I was always one fighting for the objective of all and I would never turn my back on my colleagues and my country.”
His Facebook post on Sunday, however, ended on an ambiguous note.
“For now, 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,” he wrote.
