In the end, it was the 40-year-old man who was crying. Not the child with the runners-up medal.
They were tears of joy as Cristiano Ronaldo, overcome with emotion, dropped to his knees after Ruben Neves converted the penalty that won Portugal the UEFA Nations League for the second time in six years. Love him or loathe him, Ronaldo has a magnetic attraction to silverware, and nothing gives him greater satisfaction than success with his country.
His third trophy with Portugal, there’s also the 2016 European Championship, was won on a night when the subplot involving him and opponent Lamine Yamal was too good to ignore.
Comparing players across different generations is always difficult, especially when the game changes so much over time. But what about when two great players of different generations end up playing in the same game?
“One is coming in and another is exiting the stage. If you want to see me as another generation, then that’s OK,” Ronaldo said on the eve of Sunday’s final against Spain in the German city of Munich.
