Pride that killed its owner: why has Ronaldo not learned the lessons of Messi, Zidane and Pelé?

These appear to be Cristiano Ronaldo's final days with the Portugal national team. Every sign points to an end drawing near amid a crisis, with "the Don" leaving through the narrow door following a legendary career with "the Brazil of Europe".

Why did the 41-year-old not learn from the legends who chose the right moment to walk away? Why did he not realise that the end is sometimes more beautiful when it comes before reality imposes it upon you?

Ronaldo is locked in a crisis with his coach and compatriot Jorge Jesus. It seems a strange one, coming as it does from the man many thought would be the first to defend "the Don" in his final days with the national team.

Since Jesus took the job, the fans had said Ronaldo had finally found the coach who knows him well, who knows how to handle him, and who would even give him what he wants in the final stage of his international career.

Then the picture suddenly turned on its head.

This was the coach who came to Al-Nassr following a call from Ronaldo, the man who showered the 41-year-old with praise throughout last season and defended him even in his worst spells. Now he finds himself on the opposite side.

I do not know whether there are behind-the-scenes details we are not yet aware of, especially as Ronaldo said he will reveal the truth at the right time. But there is one truth "the Don" should have realised some time ago: at the age of 41, no one has any guarantee of remaining the number one forever.

Not even Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ronaldo's pride

Sitting on the bench, even for a single match, is not an insult to his history. Ronaldo should have known that.

He could have been angry, could have argued, could have disagreed with the coach, could even have asked for an explanation. But the star who spent two full decades imposing himself on the world needed, in his final days, something harder than scoring goals: to accept that time is no longer working in his favour.

This is precisely where the problem lies.

Ronaldo set a bad example of how a legendary star should bow out. The tension, walking out of the camp, abandoning the national team in the middle of a crisis, whatever its real reasons, may write a final chapter that does not resemble the career he built for himself.

Judging by the picture that has emerged so far, what happened looks nothing like the ending Ronaldo's admirers had wished for a legend of his stature.

Yet it was not entirely out of keeping with the way he dealt with the final years of his international career. He long chased records, and now his goal is goal number 1000.

The irony is that the pride which made Ronaldo a legend may be the very thing now threatening to end it. That pride is what made him refuse to surrender when everyone doubted him, return after injuries, change his style of play, chase records and defy time for years.

At some point, though, it can turn from a fuel that drives the legend forward into a shackle that stops it knowing when to quit.

Messi knew when to say "goodbye"

Look, by contrast, at Lionel Messi.

True, Messi had already announced his international retirement in 2016 after losing the Copa América final, then reversed his decision. But the real ending came completely differently.

After years of pain and criticism, Messi led Argentina to the 2022 World Cup, then added the Copa América title, and continued until the 2026 World Cup. He announced his final international retirement at the age of 39, after losing the World Cup final to Spain.

He did not leave because he was no longer able to play. He did not leave because he was asked to go. And he did not wait for a coach to tell him that another player was better than him in a particular match.

He left because he felt the story had reached its final chapter. Here lies the difference.

There is irony, too, in the fact that Messi will play his farewell match next week against Benin at the Monumental, on a night that will turn into a celebration of the end of an international career whose timing he himself chose. Perhaps Ronaldo will feel his mistake when he watches that match.

Zidane: the ending whose picture was never completed

Even Zinedine Zidane, whose ending was far from perfect, knew there was a moment at which he had to stop.

Zidane announced that the 2006 World Cup would be his final chapter with France, then delivered an exceptional tournament, led his country to the final and scored a historic goal with a Panenka, before his story ended with a red card against Italy.

Yes, the ending was painful. Yes, the headbutt on Marco Materazzi tarnished the final image.

But Zidane did not wait to become a marginal player, did not wait for his place in the France squad to become a daily issue, and did not enter a battle to prove that he still deserved his spot.

He knew that this was his last World Cup. He knew the time had come, so he left through the big door at the age of 34. France's fans wished he had continued for a few more years, especially as he was physically capable at the time of offering more.

Pelé: he chose to retire before time imposed it

Pelé, one of the greatest ever to touch a football, offers a lesson Ronaldo perhaps should have dwelt upon at length.

Pelé did not wait to become an ordinary player with Brazil, and did not allow the final years of his international career to become a battle over whether he still deserved his place.

After leading Brazil to the World Cup title for the third time in its history in 1970, in one of the greatest editions the Brazilian national team ever delivered, Pelé played his final international match in 1971, at the age of thirty.

He could have continued. He was still capable of making a difference. But Pelé chose to close the door himself, after reaching a summit it is difficult for any player to surpass.

He did not wait to lose his place. He did not wait for a new coach to decide that his role had diminished. And he did not wait for his place with Brazil to turn into a daily question over whether time had begun to defeat him.

Pelé chose the moment himself.