The scenes of watching Cristiano Ronaldo tearfully wave goodbye to the 2026 World Cup were unbearable for Real Madrid fans, as Ronaldo's final career World Cup game will be a 1-0 loss to Spain in which many, including Ronaldo's former European Championship winning teammate Ricardo Quaresma, felt that Portugal did not give their best as a team.
For Real Madrid supporters and most fans around the world, Ronaldo's legacy is already sealed regardless of the outcome of this disappointing World Cup for Portugal, and although former Mexican international Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez did not spend a long time with Ronaldo as his teammate in Madrid, his heartfelt words of praise for the Madrid legend will ring true for all Madridistas.
Chicharito posted a tribute to Cristiano on Instagram, as relayed by the Madrid Zone, “Cris, I don’t hold on to this match or even this World Cup. I hold on to the player who changed the history of his national team, who led Portugal to achieve what had seemed impossible for so many years, and who inspired an entire generation to believe that there are no limits. Thank you for the example. Thank you for everything, Cristiano Ronaldo.”
Cristiano Ronaldo means everything to Portugal
That is yet another beautiful statement from a true Madridista. Chicharito, again, did not spend long with Real Madrid and was actually with Manchester United and even Bayer Leverkusen for longer, but being a Madridista is more of a feeling rather than a matter of tenure.
Chicharito summed up Ronaldo's legacy beautifully, and any Real Madrid fan who watched Cristiano lead this team to Champions League after Champions League in the 2010s will feel their heartstrings tucked on and their nerves stricken.
Because no matter what, Ronaldo will always be the man who inspired many with his greatness on the pitch, and his legacy with Portugal is sealed. Hernandez is one of the best equipped to comment on how much an athlete can mean to a player who is the face of a country that is not traditionally a contneder, and he knows better than many how much it meant for the country of Porutgal and how much of an achievement it was for Ronaldo to win the European Championship for Portugal.
As Ronaldo's absence from the World Cup sinks in, Madridistas will hope to see more appreciative statements and acknowledgment of the legacy of the greatest Portuguese player of all time, with all due respect to Pepe, Luis Figo, and Eusebio.
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