CR7 is the beginning of the end of Saudi Arabia or the end of the beginning of Portugal?

Pedro Proença has in hands the opportunity to stay remembered as one of the most striking presidents of the history of the Portuguese Football Federation (PFF), the one who, confronted with the pressure of what is the building Cristiano Ronaldo, with everything that means from the sports, media and financial point of view, knew how to put the interests of the collective above the various personal interests.

Instead, we come across a frustrating lack of self-love. In the face of a player who has abandoned teammates, coach and a whole nation, the president ignores the process that his own Discipline Council has opened and goes on multiplying in public gossip about how important he thinks his return to national selection is.

But after all, why (and to whom) Does Cristiano Ronaldo miss you so much? Looking at the pure and hard facts, it was since he abandoned Portugal's internship that Jorge Jesus put the team playing the best football we've seen practice in many years, even leading to the defeat of the two theoretically toughest matches ahead, in the League of Nations group stage.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored three goals in the last nine games by the national team (two of which in the famous “I’m Back”, against Uzbekistan), to which he added a red card. His replacement, Gonçalo Ramos, scored three goals in the last three games, and, in the middle, still made an audience (the last of CR7 by the team of quinas was in November 2024).

If Cristiano Ronaldo was the heart of all Portugal's problems? Nope. If, without him, everything is settled? Nope. But, at least, it was in this period that we finally saw what this selection is capable of, when it focuses on the collective and not on putting all and all things through the captain. This would undoubtedly be a very valuable asset if well managed, but we know that it is not there.

If it is not the sports plan that originates such a cry, then media and financial remain. In the first, the results are seen, with the loss of thousands of followers, on social networks, as if it were a tragedy. The second... it's not our problem. The FPF is a private institution, and no matter how little money you make without Cristiano Ronaldo, you have to adapt yourself to the time of lean cows.

In fact, at the moment, it will not be unreasonable to note that Cristiano Ronaldo is more in need of Saudi Arabia than Portugal. If what continues to happen in the Middle East is so often overshadowed, it owes much to the sportswashing, which he himself advocates, and if the eyes of the world continue to go to football in this particular country, it cannot be anyone else.

From the moment Cristiano Ronaldo chooses to ‘hang the cleats’ or simply ‘change the air’, Saudi Arabia will lose any sporting relevance it may have, for many other players that can land there. And then you will justify the whining by a figure whose importance goes a lot, but far beyond what it does on the four lines.

In fact, as the 1,000th goal approaches, the fears of ‘goodbye’ are growing, and the consequences are already felt. In football, with an ever smaller bet from the state, investment decreases, and privatization should even be the way forward. Outside of it, for example, the bankruptcy statement by Liv Golf is another sign that without Cristiano Ronaldo, the future will be anything but smiling.