Ronaldo was inconsolable after missing a penalty in extra time during Portugal’s round of 16 clash against Slovenia in the 2024 European Championship on Monday.
The former Manchester United and Real Madrid star saw his penalty saved by Jan Oblak but made amends during the ensuing shootout as Portugal beat Slovenia 3-0 on penalties to advance to the quarterfinals.
Asamoah Gyan compares his tearful moment to Ronaldo's after penalty miss
In many ways, Ronaldo’s situation is similar to what Gyan experienced during the 2010 World Cup when he missed a late penalty against Uruguay in the quarterfinals but picked himself up to score in the shootout that followed..
Gyan compared both situations and said he also cried after his penalty miss because he was overwhelmed with emotions.
“I also cried when I missed my penalty in 2010. Unfortunately, in my case, we couldn’t win. But Portugal won and I think Ronaldo’s teammates saved him,” he said on Wontumi FM.
“It’s football and no one intentionally misses a penalty. People usually don’t understand how things work but everything that has happened since my penalty miss has given people perspective on happenings in football.”
The former Sunderland star also attributed Ronaldo’s breakdown to his competitiveness and strong passion for the game.
“I’m a very competitive guy. I hate to lose so when I make a mistake, it doesn’t mean I’m incompetent. So I want to prove to people that humans make mistakes but they can be corrected. That is why I elected to take the first penalty in the shootout after missing my kick,” Gyan said.
“I strongly believe if I didn’t retake that penalty, it would’ve been the end of my career… Ronaldo is very competitive too, that’s why he was crying. He has passion for the game.”
Meanwhile, Gyan is currently Ghana’s second-most-capped player and all-time top scorer with 51 goals.