HEART OF THE DEVIL: Ronaldo emotionally hugged Pepe in his arms after the Portuguese midfielder declared ‘I will leave Portugal when Ronaldo does’.

Cristiano Ronaldo comforted teammate Pepe after Portugal were knocked out of Euro 2024 by France.

After a cagey 120 minutes, France and Portugal went to a penalty shootout in the quarter-finals of the 2024 European Championships.

Despite coming through a shootout in the previous round thanks to three back-to-back heroic saves from goalkeeper Diogo Costa, Portugal fell short against France.

A missed third penalty from Atletico Madrid forward Joao Felix punished by goals from France’s Bradley Barcola and Theo Hernandez meant that the shootout finished 5-3 to the French.

And Portuguese defender Pepe couldn’t hold back tears as he was comforted by team captain Cristiano Ronaldo shortly after the match finished.

Euro 2024 will almost certainly be the final international competition for 41-year-old veteran Pepe, who has 143 caps for his national team.

After 17 years playing for Portugal, the defender has won two trophies with his country, including the 2016 Euros where his team beat France 1-0.

Pepe started all but one of Portugal’s Euro 2024 matches and broke the record for the older player to feature in the European Championships.

Euro 2024 will also be the final international competition for captain Ronaldo, who confirmed the news after Monday’s win over Slovenia.

Previously, Pepe also admitted that: Pepe: “I will retire from international football at the same time as Cristiano. As long as he is there, I will be there to help him bring Portugal forward.”