“We’ll die fat and at a bar” - Cristiano Ronaldo’s speech after Euro 2016 triumph resurfaces as Portugal seal Euro 2024 knockout berth
Cristiano Ronaldo's speech following Portugal's Euro 2016 win has resurfaced after A Selecao booked their place in the Euro 2024 knockouts. They did so following a 3-0 win over Turkey in Dortmund on Saturday (June 22).
Ronaldo, 39, remains without a goal at this year's Championships after two games but provided an assist to Bruno Fernandes for his team's third goal. Ten minutes into the second period, the A Selecao captain led a counterattack and looked good to score.
However, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner surprisingly squared to an unmarked Fernandes to tap the ball into an empty net. In the process, Ronaldo equalled the Czech Republic's Karel Poborsky's record of eight assists in Euros history.
Following the record-equalling performance, the legend's victory speech in the Portugal dressing room after their first European Championship triumph in 2016. A Selecao beat hosts France 1-0 in extra time after Cristiano Ronaldo had hobbled off injured inside the opening half hour.
The speech - as uploaded by Selecao Portugal - went like this (as translated from Portuguese):
"First of all, I want to thank this gentleman (pointing to then boss Fernando Santos), secondly the staff and everyone involved in this win. Nobody believed in Portugal, and the truth is that, for all and against all, we did it."
"I'm very happy, one of the happiest days of my life. No individual trophy, no Champions League, this is the happiest moment of my life. I've cried three or four times already. Truthfully, I swear on my son, this is the day happiest day of my life."
He concluded:
"I'm genuinely happy, really happy. Thanks to you, everyone here, players, staff, the coach - with all his faith - really touched me, doctors, security, we deserve this. We've made history for Portugal. We're the first. We'll die fat and at a bar and say, 'I won the Euro for Portugal in 2016.' We'll say this, I'm sure."
The win over Turkey confirmed A Selecao's place in the Euro 2024 knockouts.
What's next for Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal at Euro 2024?
Portugal next take on Georgia in their final Euro 2024 group game in Schalke on Wednesday (June 26). Having won their first two games, A Selecao will look for another win ahead of sterner challenges in the knockouts.
Cristiano Ronaldo is still looking for his first goal at this year's Championships. But if he does so, he will become the oldest scorer in the Euro finals as well as the first to score in six different editions of the competition.
In their last knockout game at the Euros, A Selecao lost 1-0 to Belgium in the Round of 16, which ended their title defence. Can they go all the way at Euro 2024 in Germany three years later?