EURO 2024: THE TEARS OF PEPE AND CRISTIANO RONALDO, ELIMINATED BY THE BLUES, AND WHO WERE PLAYING THEIR LAST EURO

Portuguese defender Pepe after his team’s elimination against France at Euro 2024 – AFP

The two Portuguese veterans will most likely no longer be there in 2028. They have made their mark on the history of Portuguese football.

History will remember that for his last match at Euro 2024 , and at the Euro in general, Pepe, 41, was perfect and left his goal untouched, forcing the French attackers, already not very skillful since the start of the competition, to water the stands. But after Théo Hernandez’s winning penalty , it was an inconsolable Pepe who collapsed on Cristiano Ronaldo’s shoulder.

History will remember that the Portuguese Ballon d’Or failed in everything he undertook, and that he stayed on the pitch far too long, in a sense condemning the Portuguese hopes. If neither has yet announced a possible international retirement, which will perhaps be the case in the mixed zone after the match, the hypothesis of seeing them again during a Euro is rather unlikely. Even Cristiano Ronaldo, who ultimately did not score during the competition, admitted this a few days ago.

“We must give space to young people”