Insane Euro 2004 stat comparing 368 players with Cristiano Ronaldo brings to light incredible longevity of Portugal captain
An unbelievable statistic about Cristiano Ronaldo has emerged: the Portuguese is the only player from Euro 2004 who's still playing top-flight football. In June, Ronaldo became the first player to feature in six European Championships when he started against the Czech Republic in Portugal's Euro 2024 opener.
Cristiano Ronaldo made his European Championship debut against Greece in 2004. Despite a 2-1 loss, Ronaldo scored on his debut in the third minute of additional time. Since then, he has gone on to feature in every iteration of the tournament for Portugal.
According to an Instagram post (posted by crmagico), only Ronaldo remains active among 368 players who participated in Euro 2004.
In six iterations of the Euros, Ronaldo has more appearances (30), goals (14) and assists (8) than anyone in tournament history.
Ronaldo also played two Euro finals, winning the tournament in 2016 after beating France 1-0 in extra time in Paris. Euro 2016 is also the only major international trophy in Portugal's repertoire. Ronaldo also won the Ballon d'Or by a record margin of 429 points that year.
However, Ronaldo will be 43 when the next iteration of the tournament takes place. In an interview with Portugal TV's RTP, the Al-Nassr forward announced that Euro 2024 was his last. The Portuguese said (via ESPN):
"Without a doubt, it's the last Euro (for me); of course, it is. But I'm not emotional about that.
"I'm moved by everything that football entails, by the enthusiasm I have for the game, the enthusiasm I see in the fans, having my family here, people's passion. ... it's not about leaving the world of football. What else is there for me to do or win?"
Cristiano Ronaldo is also the leading goalscorer in men's international football. In 212 games, the Portuguese No. 7 has 130 goals and 45 assists. He's expected to be in action when Portugal face Croatia in their UEFA Nations League opener on Thursday (September 5).
How Cristiano Ronaldo fared at Euro 2024
Euro 2024 marked the first time Cristiano Ronaldo failed to scored at a European Championship. Despite getting off to a good start, Portugal lost their momentum after a group-stage defeat to Georgia and didn't score from open play in their next two games.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner also missed a penalty against Slovenia in the Round of 16 clash Portugal got a penalty in the 114th minute after a goalless regulation time, but Ronaldo failed to hit the net as the match eventually went to penalties.
However, Ronaldo converted his penalty in the shootout as Portugal won 3-0 to reach the quarter-finals, where they went down 5-3 in another shootout to Kylian Mbappe's France after a scoreless 120 minutes.
Despite an underwhelming tournament, Ronaldo recorded an assist against Turkiye in the group stage, making him the joint-highest assist-maker (8) in Euros alongside the Czech Republic's Karel Poborsky.