What a match, what a final, what a player, what a career! To play at a high level at 40 years and 4 months, to score in a final against Spain, be it a friendly or a low-stakes tournament, to be there for your team (yes, Cristiano Ronaldo seems to me to be playing more wisely than ever – maybe his physique doesn’t help him to be selfish anymore; however, time forgives no one)… all this can only be part of a divine plan to end a career whose attributes are performance, ambition, work to the point of exhaustion, many trophies and a bit of genius.

“If serious injuries don’t occur, I will continue doing what I love, playing football and enjoying every moment on the pitch!” Cristiano declared in an interview in the mixed zone, immediately after the match.

His statistics speak for himself: 221 appearances for the Portuguese national team, in which he scored 138 times, being recorded in history as the absolute leader in the line of “international” goals! Until Ronaldo and Messi, only the famous Iranian striker Ali Daei had surpassed the 100-goal mark for a national team.

And there’s something else! Portugal had nothing before him (3 Euro qualifiers, 3 World Cups and no trophy)!

Portugal with Ronaldo qualified for 5 World Championships, 6 EUROs and won 3 trophies.

I can only be happy that I was part of this piece of history, which I approached with an ideal kit for sports photography, thanks to @canonromania :

✅ Canon R1
✅ Canon RF 100-300, F/2.8