If there’s high drama in international football, trust Cristiano Ronaldo to turn it into an opera.

The Portugal captain, one of the biggest superstars the game has known, is looking for what could well be his last hurrah on this stage. But so far in Germany, he has struggled to impose himself and his desperation continued in their Euro 2024 last-16 game with Slovenia on Monday.

Winning a penalty shootout 3-0 after a 0-0 game against the 57th-ranked team in world football might not sound much.

But there were tears, lots of them, from Ronaldo; an apology in prayer form to his fans, who responded with adulation; extravagant arm gestures of anger, frustration and exasperation; chances wasted and denied to make more tournament history; a renewed duel with an old rival goalkeeper; and ultimately redemption and victory.

“Time beat him. Time... takes everybody out. It’s undefeated,” said Rocky Balboa in the film Creed and those words could easily be applied to Ronaldo.

A tearful Ronaldo being embraced and comforted by teammates after missing a penalty in extra time that could have helped Portugal secure a spot in the quarter-finals before a shootout win is a cathartic image that stunned fans around the world.

Ronaldo’s mother was in the stadium and TV pictures showed her crying, too, after he missed his penalty.

“Sometimes it’s hard and difficult to score penalties,” Ronaldo told Portuguese broadcaster RTP after the match, getting emotional again. “I’ve scored more than 200 penalties in my career. Sometimes it’s a mess.”

Still, the last act of Monday’s show gave Portugal what it needed.

“We showed the enthusiasm that we still have to play, to have fun, to give joy to the fans and that’s it, this is our life,” he said after it was all over, close to midnight in Frankfurt.

Goalkeeper Diogo Costa’s brilliance in blocking three spot kicks from the Slovenians helped Portugal win, with Ronaldo converting the first spot kick and apologising to fans in the stands immediately after scoring before breaking down in tears following the game and being unable to finish an interview.

His tears showed more than just the sorrow or guilt of a player feeling the weight of responsibility from almost letting his country down. They were the tears of a frustrated player who expects greatness but was not the difference-maker he
once was.

During the 2022 World Cup, Ronaldo said: “The best timing is my timing” as he arrived in Qatar with his career in turmoil, about to leave Manchester United to play in Saudi Arabia.

Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon D’Or winner, had arrived with a mission to prove he could still make a difference on the world stage. But he ended the tournament on the bench and had no impact as a substitute in the 1-0 quarter-final loss to Morocco.

After that defeat, the shocking image of Ronaldo running to the tunnel in tears as desolate as the football world had ever seen him was something Portugal fans were not used to.

But with long-time Portugal manager Fernando Santos gone and newcomer Roberto Martinez trusting him with the captaincy and a leadership role in a young and talented squad, Ronaldo was given another shot at glory in Euro 2024.

Despite being a model of longevity for more than two decades in an outstanding career, breaking numerous records and playing for some of the biggest clubs in the world, Ronaldo has been a shadow of his old self over the last two weeks in Germany.

Lacking the speed, explosion and agility that were his trademarks while pouncing on balls like a tiger to plunder goals in various ways that only he was able to, the 2024 version of Ronaldo has yet to score at this Euros after four games.

Against Slovenia, just as in the previous three games, his shooting was off-kilter and his headers failed to trouble keeper Jan Oblak of AtleticoMadrid, an old rival from his Real Madrid days, while his teammates seemed to be forcing the ball to him, disrupting Portugal’s tempo and slowing them down.

At 39, Ronaldo would have become the oldest player to score in a European Championship if he had netted his extra-time penalty but he failed to beat the excellent Oblak and instead of relief came desperation.

Martinez still trusted him to take the first penalty in the shootout and Ronaldo duly delivered to help Portugal stay alive at the Euros, with several records that he is still seeking and heading to a blockbuster quarter-final with France in Hamburg on Friday.