With his hands on his hips at the final whistle, Cristiano Ronaldo had tears in his eyes as he stared blindly into the distance and contemplated the sobering reality of defeat.It was the moment that he knew his World Cup dream was finally over – a moment that should have arrived four years ago in Qatar, when Portugal were beaten by Morocco in the last eight. Instead, the Ronaldo show rolled on for one last tour on football’s biggest stage. Realistically, there was never going to be a grand farewell.Against Spain, Ronaldo looked, sadly, what he is: a 41-year-old legend of the game who is well past his best. It was a man trying – and failing – to hold back the hands of time, while clinging to the hope that he might somehow get to lift the one major trophy that has eluded him.Ronaldo touched the ball 19 times against Spain. To put that figure into context, Mikel Oyarzabal, the Spain striker, was the next lowest starter with 35 touches.To say that Ronaldo was peripheral would be generous. For long periods it felt as though this last-16 World Cup game was taking place around him. A giant of the game – arguably the greatest goalscorer ever – was reduced to the role of an on-field spectator. Not so much a support act, as an act.None of that particularly came as a shock based on Ronaldo’s performances at this World Cup. He was kidding nobody when he screamed “I’m back, I’m back!” into a television camera in Houston, Texas, two weeks ago.Or at least he was kidding nobody who didn’t allow their judgement to be clouded by a couple of goals against Uzbekistan and who can remember what Ronaldo in his pomp looked like – a man capable of producing moments of breathtaking brilliance with astonishing regularity and winning games single-handedly.Cristiano Ronaldo’s World Cup run ends with Portugal exitOliver Kay and Rachael TindeAs the clock ticked down against Spain, and the game remained goalless and the substitutes’ board was raised, you kept wondering if it would be Ronaldo’s number. Portugal looked blunt, desperate for some fresh attacking impetus and a focal point up front to stretch a Spain defence that had been far too comfortable for far too long.Pedro Neto made way. Vitinha departed. Joao Felix was substituted. Joao Cancelo came off too. But not Ronaldo, the oldest player on the pitch by a distance and man who, curiously, played more minutes in the group stage than any other member of the Portugal squad.That Roberto Martinez, Portugal’s coach, chose to leave Ronaldo out there until the bitter end against Spain came as no surprise. Fernando Santos, Martinez’s predecessor, had the courage and conviction to pick a starting XI without Ronaldo at the last World Cup. Martinez, in contrast, indulged him.