A BOLA’s Luís Aguilar delivers a powerful opinion piece on Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure from the Portugal national team.

He argues that Ronaldo’s departure was an ending nobody wanted, but one that everyone failed to prevent.

Aguilar believes the problem goes beyond Copenhagen, saying Portugal gradually confused gratitude with dependence and stopped treating Ronaldo as a footballer, instead turning him into a monument whose every decision became a national issue.

He also criticises Jorge Jesus, arguing that being right to choose a striker does not mean being right in how the situation was handled. He questions the gap between Jesus’ public claims that there was no problem and Ronaldo’s eventual departure.

The FPF also comes under scrutiny, with Aguilar arguing that the federation should have prepared for Ronaldo’s eventual departure and ensured that the coach and captain had clear expectations.