143 team trophies and 18 individual trophies! It seems unreal that only five players won all of that. But it is true! Five majestic footballers that we see play for the last time in the European Championship.
Even though some national team caps are still up for grabs for some of them, UEFA EURO competition will say a final farewell to magicians who left countless football memories to fans all over the world.
Cristiano Ronaldo (39), Portugal
It is a little bit ungrateful to write that Cristiano Ronaldo will be playing his last anything, because this human (we think he is human) has broken countless barriers already. But thinking that at the age of 43 he will be competing in another European Championship is improbable, even for him.
Appearance in Germany is his record-breaking 6th EURO, a number it will be extremely hard to reach for all upcoming players. With football being more and more intense, with more and more matches filling the calendar, if any player stays at this level all those years is an achievement to bow to. But Ronaldo managed to do so and topped most of the statistical charts on the way.
Not counting this ongoing Germany EURO, he played 25 matches in the final EURO tournaments for Portugal and scored 14 times. Both of those numbers are the highest ever in that statistical category. And both of those will be challenging to overpass. A predator in and out of the box, in all his EURO career, had 137 total scoring attempts. If you need to put that into context, bear in mind that the next one on this all-time EURO list is Thierry Henry with (only) 52 goal scoring attempts.
Football will not be the same when he officially retires. But even though his EURO retirement is probable, the timing of his retirement from football all together, is something nobody is willing to bet on.
Luka Modrić (38), Croatia
One of the few who can be in the same sentence as Cristiano Ronaldo when speaking about being in perfect physical form, at the age when most of the players already enjoy retirement – Luka Modrić is still the heartbeat of every team he plays for.
Croatia is much more successful in World Cups than European Championships. A country of just four million people has three WC medals (one silver and two bronze), two of them are from the last two consecutive tournaments. But on European soil, Croatia and Modrić are still waiting for a big result. Maybe Luka’s final EURO dance is the one they have been waiting for.
This is his fifth European Championship. He failed to reach the knockout stage only once (2012. – in the ‘’group of death’’ with Spain, Italy and Ireland), but in all other editions, he still hasn’t felt the joy of winning at least once in the knockout stage. With two consecutive World Cup medals, Modrić is keen to lead his team one final time to the final stages of a big tournament.
He played 13 EURO matches, scored three times and assisted for two more goals. His average Sofascore rating for European Championships is 7.34 and on average he has 2.3 successful dribbles per match. Modrić will definitely be celebrated for his technical brilliance and his leadership on the grandest stages.
Toni Kroos (34), Germany
It is hard to believe that Toni Kroos, being one of the most dominant midfielders in the world, before EURO 2024 played 14 matches at three European Championships and only has one assist on his UEFA EURO CV (congratulations to Shkodran Mustafi, recipient of his only EURO assist). But this is what Kroos means to this German team. His Sofascore rating for European tournaments is still a high 7.51.
He is the conductor of all German attacks because the numbers are clear – Toni Kroos has most accurate passes in all EURO history – 1.105 accurate passes, sitting on top of the all-time list above Jordi Alba, as the only one with Toni Kroos above the magical limit of one thousand accurate EURO passes!
Kroos said farewell to the German national team a couple of years ago, but changed his mind this March, and decided to start his fourth EURO campaign, in front of his home fans.
At the age of 34, with one World Cup and six Champions League trophies in his showcase, he will try to win the only one missing – Henri Delaunay trophy and wave his final goodbye, not only to EURO campaigns, but probably also to the German national team jersey. After more than 100 caps for Germany, for one of the finest midfielders of his generation – it will be a well-deserved retirement.
Robert Lewandowski (35), Poland
Poland isn’t a team seen among favorites for big tournament medals, but Robert Lewandowski is always among the favorites for best scorer title. Polish sharpshooter played on three final EURO campaigns before coming to Germany, and his proudest moment is reaching the quarterfinals in 2016, scoring a 2nd minute goal against Portugal and pulling them all the way to penalty shootout before they were eliminated.
Lewandowski played a total of 11 EURO matches and scored five times on the way. His average Sofascore rating for those 11 matches is 7.06.
In 2014, he joined Bayern Munich, where his goal-scoring exploits reached new heights. Lewandowski has consistently been among the top scorers in Europe, breaking numerous records, including scoring 41 goals in a single Bundesliga season, surpassing Gerd Müller’s long-standing record. He has won multiple Bundesliga titles, Champions League, and was awarded The Best FIFA Men’s Player in 2020 and 2021.
For Poland, Lewandowski has been a talisman, scoring over 70 international goals and becoming their all-time leading scorer.
Olivier Giroud (37), France
Maybe not a first name that comes to mind when someone mentions French football, but a name that has given so much to Les Bleus. Olivier Giroud is France’s all-time leading goal scorer with 57 goals scored in his 13 years as a national team striker. Being on that list in front of names like Thierry Henry or Karim Benzema says a lot. His current captain Kylian Mbappé is most likely to surpass him in upcoming months, but nevertheless, Giroud has proven his worth many times.
He played 11 matches at European Championship before this 2024 edition and scored three times on the way. One of his most memorable appearances is definitely from the 2016 quarterfinal against Iceland. France won comfortably 5:2, Giroud scored twice, added one assist to the score and was the highest rated player on the pitch, with 9.2 Sofascore rating.
He is not just saying goodbye from the European Championships, he is saying goodbye from the French jersey, as he announced himself that this will be his final campaign with the team. A World Cup winner from 2018 hopes he can win his first European title with this talented generation. It would be the most perfect final bow for the player who always delivered when it mattered most, earning respect through hard work and perseverance.
These five players, each a magician in their own way, have left a big impact on the game. Their final appearance in the European Championship will be a celebration of their careers and the countless memories they have given to football fans around the world.