Cristiano Ronaldo receives message from Sadio Mane after breaking down in tears at Euro 2024

Sadio Mane has hailed his Al-Nassr team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo, calling him a “great champion” after Ronaldo missed a penalty in Portugal’s round of 16 tie against Slovenia.

In an unexpected and emotional moment during extra time, Ronaldo saw his penalty saved by Slovenian goalkeeper Jan Oblak. Ronaldo’s shot bounced off the post, leaving him visibly emotional and in tears at half-time during extra time.

Despite Ronaldo’s initial disappointment, his Portuguese teammates rallied around him and propelled the team to the quarter-finals. Ronaldo managed to redeem himself by scoring a goal in the penalty shootout.

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Lending his support, Al-Nassr ace and Liverpool legend Mane shared a post on his Instagram story and told Ronaldo: “You remain a great champion.”

Ronaldo had already tasted international glory with Portugal at the Euros a few years ago and was clearly upset at the prospect of letting his team down with his missed shot from 12 yards. He candidly said: “Even the strongest people have their (bad) days. I was at my lowest when the team needed me the most.”

“The sadness at the beginning is the joy at the end. That’s football. Moments, inexplicable moments. I feel sad and happy at the same time. But the important thing is to enjoy it. The team did an extraordinary job. We fought until the end and I think we deserved it because we had more authority.”

Sadio Mané and Cristiano Ronaldo are colleagues in Saudi Arabia(Image: Getty Images)

Despite Cristiano Ronaldo’s iconic presence in Portugal’s squad, it was goalkeeper Diogo Costa who stole the show. The Porto keeper played a key role, stopping all three of Slovenia’s penalties, paving the way for his team’s qualification.