BERLIN: Time is up — again — for Portugal’s aging superstar Cristiano Ronaldo after an inglorious Euro 2024 exit.

France ousted the 2016 winners 5-3 on penalties after a goalless quarterfinal in Hamburg on Friday and Ronaldo was ineffectual at best, damaging to his own side’s aspirations at worst.

In the 2022 World Cup when former coach Fernando Santos dropped Ronaldo to the bench for the team’s 6-1 demolition of Switzerland, a bright Portugal future shimmered on the horizon.

However, his successor Roberto Martinez has backed the 39-year-old, now playing in Saudi Arabia at Al-Nassr, to the hilt and beyond.

Maintaining the former Real Madrid and Manchester United forward as their figurehead, Portugal swept through Euros qualification with a 100 percent record and were among the favorites in Germany.

However, they have badly under-performed with Ronaldo failing to find the net in five appearances this summer. The striker is without a goal in his last nine major tournament matches.

Despite boasting strong options to replace him, including Liverpool’s Diogo Jota and Paris Saint-Germain’s Goncalo Ramos, Martinez refused to take Ronaldo off against France.

Didier Deschamps substituted Les Bleus icon Kylian Mbappe as he struggled to make an impact but Ronaldo remained even as the game passed him by.

In the last 16 win over Slovenia, Ronaldo missed a penalty in extra-time and burst into tears, a distracting sideshow, but Martinez praised the forward’s emotional reaction after the game as a sign of his passion.

However, many suspect those tears were not for Portugal but for himself, as he failed to break the record for the oldest player ever to score at a European Championship.

Ronaldo also ended his run of scoring at every major international tournament he has competed in, and could not extend his record of 14 Euros goals.

He took 23 shots without success in Germany, and perhaps the most damning was a glittering opportunity in extra-time against France.

Spritely winger Francisco Conceicao cut the ball back to the forward, a few yards out from goal, but somehow he fired his team’s clearest chance high over the bar.

It was the kind of chance that Ronaldo has dispatched a hundred times in his career.

Ronaldo’s presence heavily conditions the way Portugal plays.

His teammates, including creative geniuses Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva, often resort to crosses to try and find him.

Ronaldo no longer has the pace to consistently break in behind the defense, limiting the passing options of the team’s playmakers.

Martinez not only did not seem powerful enough to leave Ronaldo out of his plans altogether but could not even bring himself to substitute the forward at the tournament, except for in the shock 2-0 defeat by Georgia.

Ronaldo started that match even though Portugal were guaranteed to win the group, while virtually every other regular was rested.

The coach said after elimination by France that no decision had been made over Ronaldo’s future at the international level.

“We just finished the game, everything is still too raw, we’re suffering a defeat as a team, there’s no individual decisions at this point,” Martinez told reporters.

One of the reasons the Spanish coach may not feel powerful enough to cut the cord is the “cult of Cristiano” which is evident among the team’s supporters.

To attend a Portugal match is to swim in a sea of maroon Ronaldo “7” shirts, with some fans wearing masks of their talisman’s face.

Even opposition fans come to watch the Ronaldo circus, though there is more sulking and pouting than goals now.

“(Our fans) mostly wanted to see Ronaldo, that’s why they flocked to the match,” noted Slovenia midfielder Adam Gnezda Cerin of a March friendly in which they beat Ronaldo and Portugal 2-0.

Although at the Euros they were eventually eliminated by Portugal on penalties, they exposed Ronaldo’s inadequacies once more at this level and France finished the job.

Ronaldo admitted these will be his last Euros, but as Portugal now turn their attention to the 2026 World Cup, their chances will surely be magnified without the preening, past-it hitman.

SILVERSTONE, England: The home crowd had three reasons to cheer when George Russell narrowly beat Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton to take pole position for the British Grand Prix, and Lando Norris was third quickest for McLaren on Saturday.
It was all about the Brits at Silverstone, with Formula 1 leader Max Verstappen taking a rare back seat and qualifying in fourth for Red Bull.
“The crowd gives us so much energy. I don’t think Silverstone could have dreamt of (this),” a jubilant Russell said. “Three Brits in the top three, we love the support and we can’t wait for the race tomorrow.”
Russell is perfectly poised to aim for a second straight F1 win following his victory at the Austrian GP last weekend. Mercedes is showing signs of closing the gap in terms of speed, and team principal Toto Wolff clenched his fist after his drivers secured a 1-2.
“What a feeling. This is just mega,” Russell said. “The car at the moment is feeling so, so good. We are riding this wave and absolutely buzzing.”
Russell arrived at the track wearing an England soccer shirt ahead of the national team’s European Championship quarterfinal against Switzerland later Saturday, and said his own nerves were on edge.
“Probably the most pressure I’ve ever felt in a qualifying session,” he said, praising the crowd for uplifting him. “I wasn’t feeling that confident with myself.”
Hamilton just missed out on a record-extending 105th F1 pole by .171 seconds while Norris was .211 seconds behind Russell, who secured his second pole of the season and third of his career.
“Three Brits in the top three is incredible,” said Hamilton, who has won at Silverstone a record eight times. “This is huge for us (Mercedes). The car felt great.”
Sergio Perez’s poor run of form for Red Bull continued. He went off track at Copse corner and into the gravel during Q1 — the first part of qualifying — prompting team principal Christian Horner to shake his head. Perez’s car was removed by a crane as the Mexican driver looked on.
Since being given a two-year contract extension last month, Perez has not finished higher than seventh in three races and faces a difficult task to score points from 19th spot.
When qualifying resumed dark clouds were forming over the six-kilometer (3.7-mile) circuit.
Verstappen uttered an expletive over the team radio after momentarily sliding off track and riding over some gravel. He was way off the pace in Q1, which was led by Hamilton, and again in Q2, which Norris led.
Verstappen missed out on a ninth pole of the season. But he praised his team for fixing damage to the car floor from going over the gravel.
“I gave it everything. Guys, thank you very much,” the Dutchman said on radio. “We’ll go at it tomorrow.”
It was a frustrating day for Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who failed to make it into Q3, the top 10 shootout, and starts 11th.
“I had huge problems with balance,” said Leclerc, who won the Monaco GP from pole in May.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri goes from fifth followed by Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg, with Carlos Sainz Jr. (Ferrari), Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), Alex Albon (Williams) and two-time F1 champion Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) rounding out the top 10.
French driver Esteban Ocon qualified in 18th and called qualifying “embarrassing” for the Alpine team. He is leaving at the end of the year and reportedly could join Haas.
Earlier Saturday, a rainy third session saw an early red flag when Alpine driver Pierre Gasly went into the gravel.
Russell led P3 narrowly ahead of Hamilton in a sign of things to come.
“To compete with the McLarens and Red Bulls is a great feeling, a massive boost,” said Hamilton, who won the last of his record 103 F1 races in the penultimate race of 2021.
Norris led the two practices on Friday with Verstappen finishing out of the top three both times.
In Sunday’s race, the start could prove crucial.
Norris has to get past two Mercedes and hold off Verstappen alongside him, one week after Verstappen and Norris crashed into each other late on in Austria.
“I can bring the fight to George and Lewis so I’m excited to put on a good show,” Norris said. “I’m confident we can execute a good race.”