Ronaldo hogs headlines at Euro 2016

Cape Town - Everyone’s still talking about Sunday’s Euro 2016 final between Portugal and France, where substitute Eder guided Portugal to victory in extra-time.

As it happened: France v Portugal

Facebook was abuzz during the final with 45 million people having 146 million interactions on the world’s biggest social network site.

Portugal skipper Cristiano Ronaldo was the most talked about player in the final globally with 53% of football fans discussing his influence in the match.

Ronaldo suffered a knee injury after a challenge by Dimitri Payet in the 17th minute of the game, which led to Portugal’s highest Euro goal scorer being substituted eight minutes later.

The 31-year-old forward posted a picture on Facebook after the game of him kissing the trophy with the caption: "I always dream to win this title."

That picture alone garnered over 5.3 million likes and 238 000 shares.

The losing team and hosts' only notable mention was Payet who got 12% coverage in France, but only 6% globally.

Eder, who replaced Renato Sanches and scored the only goal in extra-time, was the second-most talked about moment of the match globally, while Ronaldo lifting the trophy was the No 1 moment for Facebook users on Sunday evening.

Here are some of the Facebook statistics during the Euro 2016 final:

Top five moments in the match (globally):
1. Ronaldo lifting the trophy
2. Éder’s goal
3. Final whistle
4. Ronaldo goes off injured
5. Kick-off
 
Top five most discussed players in the final (globally):
1. Cristiano Ronaldo - 53%
2. Pepe - 10%
3. Nani - 7%
4. Dimitri Payet - 6%
5. Ricardo Quaresma - 5%
 
Top three most discussed players in France were:
1. Cristiano Ronaldo - 51%
2. Dimitri Payet - 12%
3. Moussa Sissoko - 8%
 
Top three most discussed players in Portugal were:
1. Cristiano Ronaldo - 44%
2. Ricardo Quaresma - 10%
3. Pepe - 6%

Celebrations:
1. Following Sunday night’s win, Ronaldo posted a photo of him with celebrating with the trophy
2. Jose Fonte posted a video showing the team celebrating while travelling back home
3. Nani celebrates with Ronaldo in the dressing room, with a picture of the two of them