Quit while you're ahead or not: Why is it so hard to say goodbye?

On Tuesday evening I was torn between frustration and sadness as I watched Cristiano Ronaldo take one unsuccessful free-kick after another during Portugal’s Euro 2024 Championship match against Slovenia.

As shots went over the bar, into the wall, into the crowd, a little bit of his lustre fell away and a little piece of me quietly died.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Ronaldo. I watched him develop into the main man at Manchester United and marvelled as he dominated world football at Real Madrid – what a player!!  

But on Tuesday night in Eintracht Frankfurt’s Deutsche Bank Park, his human frailties were there for all to see. The news that this Euros will be his last will be a relief for his world-wide fanbase.

In politics a similar narrative is being written about US President Joe Biden.

The 81-year-old has had to cope with questions about his age and ability even before he entered the Oval Office. Remember Donald Trump, who's 78, mockingly calling him ‘Sleepy Joe’ during the 2020 presidential election campaign?

Over the following years, and particularly over recent months, his ability to competently execute the Office of President of the United States has been called into question.

The recent televised debate with Donald Trump was his opportunity to prove the doubters wrong and shut down debates about his fitness to lead, but it only confirmed the worst fears of many.

Yet Joe has vowed to fight-on.

The Wimbledon tennis tournament is underway and so too is the annual stress fest about Andy Murray’s fitness. Wimbledon wouldn’t be Wimbledon without rain, strawberries and cream and an Andy Murray fitness scare.

He's already pulled out of the singles but will compete in the doubles with his brother Jamie, and with young British superstar