Cristiano Ronaldo had the best moment of his international career when he lifted the UEFA Euro 2016 title after Portugal defeated France in the final bringing an end to the Real Madrid star’s 12-year wait for an international trophy. One would feel destiny owed them the European crown after taking it away from them when Greece defeated them in final at Lisbon in Ronaldo’s first appearance in a major international trophy.
Ronaldo however, couldn’t play even 45 minutes of arguably the biggest match in his international career. He was substituted in the first half after being on the receiving end of a Dmitri Payet challenge put an end to his night as the three-time Ballon d'Or winner left the pitch in tears on the stretcher. Ronaldo is currently on vacation with his mother and his son Cristiano Jr on the Spanish island Ibiza. He was diagnosed with a sprain in his medial collateral ligament after the final and would probably be out for a month or even longer.
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He has always been keen on his fitness and one would feel he is certainly on a mission to return to action as early as possible. However, he would miss the early part of next season including the UEFA Supercup game against Sevilla as Real Madrid hope to have enough talent in their squad to cope with his absence.
Ronaldo is now the favourite to win the next Ballon d’Or after winning two European finals (he also led Real Madrid to their 11th European Championship). He returned to the touchline in the extra time after receiving treatment and kept on encouraging his team-mates along with manager Fernando Santos with Eder’s goal in the 109th minute of the match enough for Portugal to win the title.
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"I'm so happy – very happy. This was something I've wanted for a long time now, ever since 2004. I asked God to give me another chance," Ronaldo told UEFA following his country’s triumph.
"Unfortunately, things didn't go well for me. I injured myself in the first few minutes. But I've always believed in these players. They have quality and ability, along with our coach's strategy to win. I've always said I wanted to win a trophy with the national team and make history. And I did it. Thank God, things went well for us."
Football fans across the globe would be eager for his return. He is Real Madrid’s all-time leading scorer with 364 goals and certainly a key part of Zinedine Zidane’s plans for next season.
