Superstar twilight: Cristiano Ronaldo has passed his zenith.
Image: EPA
Cristiano Ronaldo missed the moment for a dignified farewell. The superstar tries desperately to brace himself against the passage of time. This also makes him a problem for his coaches.
AGoodbyes make you cry, as the sports world experienced just last weekend. When Roger Federer finished the last tennis match of his famous professional career, not many eyes stayed dry. The Swiss superstar left behind sad fans who will miss his incomparable style of play, touched officials who lost the greatest ambassador of their sport and crushed competitors who, like Rafael Nadal, did not shed crocodile tears but truly showed heart. The place and time were perfect.
Sometimes non-farewells are also to cry for. In other words, careers that could actually have ended well and gloriously, but where the superstar in question simply cannot bring himself to bring himself to call it a day: be it out of passion for his sport, out of fun in a test of strength with others, or out of a thirst for recognition. Such is the case for 37-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo, whose attempts to somehow resist the passage of time are becoming increasingly desperate.
