A series of veterans bid farewell to the 2024 European Cup

After the first two quarter-finals on the evening of June 5 and the early morning of July 6, fans had to say goodbye to five veterans. The 2024 European Cup is also their last major tournament. The oldest among them is Pepe, the midfielder after Portugal lost 3-5 to France in a penalty shootout. He is not only participating in the 2024 European Cup, but also the “oldest” participant in the history of the European Cup final. After the game, Pepe sobbed on the shoulder of his close teammate Cristiano Ronaldo. The midfielder, born in 1983, played the full 120 minutes with precise tackles and solid defense, proving that age is just a number.

Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo holds the record for most goals, most assists and most appearances in European Championship finals. After experiencing a variety of emotions from crying to smiling during the victory over Slovenia in the round of 16, he calmly accepted the defeat to France this morning. The legendary CR7 bid farewell to the 2024 European Championship in an incomplete way, which was also the last European Championship of his career, and was eliminated in the quarterfinals, the first time he did not score in a major tournament.

Ahead of the start of Euro 2024, German midfielder Toni Kroos announced his retirement from football, saying the tournament in his home country would be his last. After Germany lost to Spain in the first quarter-final last night, the rising midfielder officially ended a brilliant career of nearly 20 years, with three Bundesliga titles, four La Liga titles and six Champions League titles. He won the 2014 World Championship with the national team.

“Maybe this will be my last international match,” Kroos’s Germany teammate Thomas Muller said in tears after Germany lost to Spain. The striker, born in 1989, spent his entire career at Bayern Munich, winning 12 Bundesliga titles and two Champions League titles. With Germany, Muller made 131 appearances and scored 45 goals, winning the 2014 World Cup and becoming the top scorer at the 2010 World Cup.

The 2024 European Cup will also be the last game for German goalkeeper Neuer, who has played 124 games for his country and is a legend for Bayern Munich and Germany. Neuer has twice been named Germany’s best player and is known as a “scanner” goalkeeper with excellent footwork and a strong mentality.

Croatia’s famous midfielder Modric said goodbye to the 2024 European Cup in a harsh way in the group stage. He and his teammates only got two points after tying two games in extra time. After a 1-1 draw with Italy in the last round of the group stage, Modric said “football is cruel”. The famous player born in 1985 won the 2018 Golden Ball and made great contributions to helping Croatia win the 2018 World Cup runner-up and the 2022 World Cup third place.

Poland was eliminated immediately after losing the first two games of the 2024 European Cup, causing captain Robert Lewandowski, who had not yet fully recovered from injury, to leave the game soon. The Polish legendary player born in 1988 has won two FIFA Player of the Year awards, two FIFA Best Forward of the Year titles and two European Golden Boots.