Steward grabs pitch invader inches from teary Cristiano Ronaldo after Portugal’s shock World Cup KO vs Morocco
CRISTIANO RONALDO’S World Cup journey almost ended with him being apprehended by a pitch invader.
The teary striker saw Portugal crash out of Qatar 2022 with a 1-0 quarter-final defeat to Morocco.
Ronnie, 37, was dropped for the second straight game by boss Fernando Santos.
And he was unable to make an impact when he came off the bench as Morocco became the first-ever African side to reach the World Cup semis.
Ronaldo, who also had WATER thrown at him by a spectator, couldn’t believe his Middle Eastern journey was at an end.
He proceeded to blubber as he stormed off down the tunnel at the final whistle.
But Ronnie’s night almost took a different turn when a pitch invader rushed towards him from the stands.
The man sprinted at Ronaldo as stewards gave chase.
And Ronnie only realised the pitch invader was there when security managed to get their hands on him moments from impact.
The man held out a hand as stewards wrestled him away, with Ronaldo just inches away.
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The forward then continued marching away from his teammates, many of who had collapsed on the floor in sadness.
And as Ronnie entered the tunnel, he was caught on camera bursting into floods of tears.
A member of staff put an arm around Ronaldo in an attempt to comfort him.
But it only appeared to make the ex-Manchester United cry even harder as he disappeared from sight into the changing rooms.