Cristiano Ronaldo Opens Up About Tears After Penalty Miss
- Ronaldo’s penalty in the last-16 against Slovenia was saved by Jan Oblak
- He broke down in tears, but it wasn’t because he felt he let Portugal down
Cristiano Ronaldo has finally revealed the reason behind his emotional breakdown after missing a crucial penalty for Portugal during Euro 2024.
The 39-year-old superstar had his penalty in extra time heroically saved by Slovenia goalkeeper Jan Oblak, leading to an emotional outburst from Ronaldo.
Ronaldo, who has only missed 29 of his 192 career penalties, was overcome with emotion during the short extra time interval. However, he has now clarified that his tears were not because he felt he had let his nation down.
Cristiano Ronaldo has revealed the reason why he broke into tears after missing a penalty
In an interview, Ronaldo explained: “When you have passion for what you are doing, you can’t be worried about how you’re feeling.”
Ronaldo added that he puts immense pressure on himself and failure to live up to his own expectations can be overwhelming.
“I didn’t even think about [Portugal losing]. I felt sad because of the pressure I put on myself since I was 11-years-old. ‘Cristiano Ronaldo you are the best player in the world’, I’m always thinking that in my mind. And I put a lot of pressure on myself [because of that].”
Ronaldo began crying profusely during the short extra time interval against Slovenia
Ronaldo redeemed himself in the shootout, scoring as Portugal claimed a 3-0 victory. However, Portugal was eventually knocked out by France, who won 5-3 in the quarter-final shootout.
Ronaldo added that he puts pressure on himself and failure to live up to his own expectations can be overwhelming