Football icon Cristiano Ronaldo laboured through his last World Cup match on Monday as the dream of winning the biggest prize of all ended in a 1-0 defeat to Spain and left him fighting back tears.

The Portugal captain says he will now go away and think about what comes next. He has won it all in a trophy-laden career at some of Europe’s biggest clubs, and tasted European glory with his country. But in his trophy cabinet there will be no World Cup winner’s medal. “That’s football, that’s the life of a footballer,” he said.