Tommy Martin: Blubbering fortysomethings - Why I almost wept for the great egomaniacal teddy bear himself

Crying over a missed penalty at 39? Pull yourself together man. Blubbing over winning a tournament at 40? Ah come here you lovely big lummox.

KNEES ARE KILLIN' ME BOSS: Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal manager Roberto Martinez embrace after their penalty shoot out win in the Nationd League finak in Munich. Pic: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images

Regular readers of this column – and a big hello to both of you – will remember a certain amount of eye-rolling prose about Cristiano Ronaldo blubbing like a baby after missing a penalty in extra-time of Portugal’s Euro 2024 Round of 16 tie with Slovenia last summer.

If I remember correctly, the point was that he was too long in the tooth to be crying about a game of football. The price of new set of tyres? Wife using vintage Pearl Jam t-shirt to clean the windows? Forgetting to pick up one of those discounted handheld chainsaws in the middle aisle of Aldi? All valid things for a man of his age to break down and weep about. But not a game of footy, legend of the game or not.