Dietmar Hamann has taken a swipe at Cristiano Ronaldo after Morocco were beaten 2-0 by France in the World Cup semi-finals on Wednesday night.
The Atlas Lions performed admirably but could not overcome the defending champions, who will face Argentina in Sunday's showpiece final courtesy of goals from Theo Hernandez and second-half substitute Randal Kolo Muani.
Walid Regragui's side made history by becoming the first African nation to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup after conquering Portugal in the quarter-finals. And it was all too much for Ronaldo, who left the pitch in tears immediately after the final whistle without acknowledging any of his own teammates or Morocco players.
After watching France's jubilant players take the time to acknowledge Morocco after the match, Hamann has compared that to Ronaldo's reaction after playing Regragui's side - with the former Liverpool ace slamming the 37-year-old for a lack of "dignity".
Speaking on RTE, Hamann said: "I think they [Morocco] brought the human side back to this World Cup. You talk about these superstars, top players, top earners - and if you think that one of the greatest players who left the scene a week ago, Cristiano Ronaldo, couldn't even congratulate them at the end of the game.
"They won that game and did something historic and he didn't even have the dignity to congratulate them for what they've achieved, and now you watch them; how they shake hands with the French. The dignity and the graciousness they show in defeat - brilliant."
Ronaldo headed to Qatar knowing that this was his final opportunity to win the World Cup - but Portugal's defeat capped a rough fortnight for Ronaldo, who lost his spot in Fernando Santos' team during the course of the tournament.
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After being dropped for Portugal's thumping 6-1 win over Switzerland in the Round of 16, there had been speculation that Ronaldo - who is currently a free agent after leaving Manchester United - could walk away from international duty.
But Ronaldo quashed those rumours in an emotional social media post in the aftermath of Portugal's painful World Cup exit. "Winning a World Cup for Portugal was the biggest and most ambitious dream of my career," Ronaldo wrote on Instagram.
"Fortunately, I won many titles of international dimension, including for Portugal, but putting the name of our country on the highest level in the world was my biggest dream.
"I fought for it. I fought hard for this dream. In the 5 appearances that I scored in World Cups over 16 years, always alongside great players and supported by millions of Portuguese people, I gave my all. Unfortunately, yesterday the dream ended. It is not worth reacting to heat."
