Sadio Mane message to Cristiano Ronaldo speaks volumes after Euro 2024 drama

Sadio Mane, the former Liverpool winger, felt the need to send a message to Cristiano Ronaldo after his tears during Portugal's victory over Slovenia. Ronaldo missed a penalty before his side won the last-16 tie on penalties.

Despite Ronaldo's initial missed spot kick potentially looking costly, his Portuguese teammates rallied around him. Ronaldo managed to scrape back some personal redemption when he scored a goal during the penalty shootout while goalkeeper Diogo Costa saved all three Slovenian efforts to ensure his side went through.

Feeling the need to lend his support, Al-Nassr ace and Liverpool legend Mane shared a post on his Instagram story. "You remain a great champion," he told Ronaldo, who at the end of the game had said: "Even the strongest people have their [bad] days. I was at rock bottom when the team needed me the most."

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"Sadness at the start is joy at the end," Ronaldo added. "That's what football is. 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 right to the end and I think we deserved it because we had more authority."

Liverpool.com says: It says a lot that Mane felt he needed to send such a message to Ronaldo. Ronaldo's post-match quotes hardly do much to dispell the idea that he wants everything to be about him, either. While Portugal has an excellent team with the likes of Diogo Jota and Joao Felix usually on the bench, Ronaldo is a big distraction. Every set-piece is his despite him not being the best person for the job anymore and his miss and his crying took the attention when they didn't need to.

Even at his age, and even while playing in Saudi Arabia, Ronaldo still needs everything to be about him. Mane's message only fuels the idea that the individual is bigger than the team. If Portugal wanted to give itself the best chance of winning the tournament, taking Ronaldo out of the team would make sense. Doing that, though, might be more trouble than its worth.