The sixth and final World Cup for the 41-year-old superstar ended with a 1-0 loss to border rival Spain in the round of 16 on Monday.

　　"I've given everything, I've given my best, and I leave with a clear conscience," he said. "This is soccer, this is life for a soccer player. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose."

　　Ronaldo, the only player to score goals in six consecutive World Cups and the leading international goalscorer with 146, said the day before that he hoped it wouldn't be his final match in this run, but he wanted to enjoy it to the fullest.

　　But he reiterated then — and again after the loss to Spain — that this was his last time at the quadrennial tournament.

　　The deepest he ever went with Portugal at the World Cup was on his first attempt, when his side reached the semifinals in 2006.

　　As for his other future plans, he wasn't ready to say.

　　"Yes, it was my last World Cup, but everything else, I'll have time to think about it, to be with my family and move on with life, and not make any hot-headed decisions," he said.

　　Ronaldo added, though, that he was leaving the World Cup stage "with a clear conscience".

　　"The truth is, the biggest title I won with the national team was in 2016 (Euros), which for me is just as significant as a World Cup, honestly," he said.

　　"That's why, I repeat, I'm leaving with a clear conscience, at my best, and that's it. Tomorrow is a new day, and life goes on."

　　Ronaldo was denied a goal in the first half against Spain, when record-setting goalkeeper Unai Simon made an impressive leaping stop. That was one of his three shots.

　　Two of those were on target, including the one for which Simon was still in midair when he reached back to grab the ball with both hands. Ronaldo fired off a backward kick with his right foot after a header by teammate Joao Felix bounced off Simon's shoulder.