Cristiano Ronaldo recently explained why he broke down in tears after missing a crucial penalty for Portugal at Euro 2024.

The 39-year-old, who failed to score a single goal in the tournament, saw his extra-time penalty saved by Jan Oblak during the round of 16 clash against Slovenia. Minutes later, Ronaldo was seen in tears during an on-pitch chat with his teammates but managed to compose himself and score in the shootout, which Portugal won 3-0.

Following the incident, Ronaldo was widely mocked on social media, with some accusing him of letting his ego get the better of him. However, the Al-Nassr forward insists that this is far from the truth.

“When you have passion for what you are doing, you can’t worry about how you are feeling,” he said in a conversation with his former Manchester United teammate Rio Ferdinand on his YouTube channel, UR Cristiano Ronaldo.

“For example, I cried the day I missed the penalty… when I cried, it wasn’t because I felt that if I didn’t score, Portugal would be eliminated and the world would collapse around me. That’s not why.

“People don’t know me. Imagine that in the last 27 penalties, you score. And in that period, you feel bad about yourself. The people who come to the stadium, your children, your mother, your girlfriend, everyone. I felt sad because of that.”

Ronaldo has said that when the high standards he sets for himself are not met, it can affect him emotionally. However, he insisted that this is what makes him authentic. “I didn’t even think about [Portugal losing],” he said.

“I was sad because of the pressure I put on myself since I was 11 years old. ‘Cristiano Ronaldo, you are the best player in the world,’ I’m always thinking that in my mind. And I put a lot of pressure on myself because of that.

“So when things go wrong, you feel it. But I love it, I know how to deal with it. But when I missed the penalty, I felt bad for myself, for the fans, for the family – not for other things. You have to express yourself. For me, if you hide those things, you’re not being yourself.”

Portugal were knocked out of the quarter-finals of the European Championship by France after another penalty shootout. As against Slovenia, Ronaldo scored in the shootout, but Portugal were defeated 5–3. This was the first major international tournament in which Ronaldo, who had struggled to make an impact throughout the competition, failed to score a goal.