Cristiano Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon D'Or winner, arrived in Qatar with a mission to prove that he could still make a difference for his national team.
He ended the tournament coming on as a second-half substitute in Portugal's 1-0 quarter-final loss to Morocco. And exited the World Cup in tears.
Before the World Cup, the 37 year old had refused to say if the tournament in Qatar would be his last and said he was already looking ahead to the 2024 European Championship.
His Facebook post on Sunday ended on an ambiguous note.
'For now, there's not much more to say. Thank you, Portugal. Thank you, Qatar. The dream was beautiful while it lasted... Now, we have to let time be a good adviser and allow everyone to draw their own conclusions.'
Virat Kohli took to Instagram to share an elaborate post on Ronaldo, hailing him as the 'greatest of all time'.
'No trophy or any title can take anything away from what you've done in this sport and for sports fans around the world,' Kohli said.
'No title can explain the impact you've had on people and what I and so many around the world feel when we watch you play. That's a gift from god.
A real blessing to a man who plays his heart out every single time and is the epitome of hard work and dedication and a true inspiration for any sportsperson.
'You are for me the greatest of all time. @cristiano,' Kohli captioned the post along with a picture of Ronaldo.
