Clad in full kit, he lifted the trophy after Eder’s extra-time victor in Paris and the 31-year-old was also one of the first people to step off the plane as it touched down on Portuguese soil on Monday.
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But it was Ronaldo’s Portugal who prevailed.
He described France’s luck as “cruel” and added “one can always argue about the way they play, but they are efficient and you must congratulate them”. And they achieved it by winning only one of their seven games at Euro 2016 inside 90 minutes.
Victory was above all sweet for Ronaldo, despite his early exit.
The 61-year-old former Greece coach said he believed from the start that Portugal could win the competition, even while recognising that other teams had more natural ability.
With 109 minutes gone, Eder beat off a Laurent Koscielny challenge to fire a shot from outside the penalty area that French captain and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris could not get a hand to.
“Considering that Portugal’s victory in the football championship was a unique moment of celebration for all Portuguese, I grant the city workers the afternoon of 11 July off so they can pay homage to our national team in the city of Lisbon” said Fernando Medina, the mayor of Lisbon, in a statement.
“Got me teary-eyed. So handsome”.
After having his knee heavily strapped, Ronaldo re-entered the fray four minutes later, only to go down again in the 23rd minute, flinging his armband to the floor.
France coach Didier Deschamps, who helped Griezmann shine at the tournament by moving him closer to Olivier Giroud up front, offered sympathy.
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Rui Patricio also repelled a 25-yard shot from the marauding Sissoko and when France substitute Andre-Pierre Gignac neatly sidestepped the fit-again Pepe in stoppage time, he could only scuff his shot against the post.
