On June 14, 2016 Cristiano Ronaldo cemented his status as the early villain of the Euro championship in a rather shocking way. A month later, he became the tournament's hero in equally surprising fashion, undergoing a process of change and development that Hollywood probably couldn't have scripted better. 

Selfish Comments Lead to Low Point

Ronaldo entered the tournament riding high from winning the UEFA Champions League, but his start to the tournament hinted that the superstar might have hit a wall.

He scuffed 10 shots at goal against Iceland and repeatedly failed, his irritation drawing a rather ill-advised action from him.

"It was a lucky night for them. We should have three points, but we are OK. I thought they'd won the Euros the way they celebrated at the end. It was just unbelievable. When they don't try to play and just defend, defend, defend, this in my opinion shows a small mentality and are not going to do anything in the competition," he said of Iceland's celebration after their Euro debut.

It placed a poor spotlight on him, potentially fracturing the unity within the locker room.

It only got worse a week later when he faltered against Austria, missing a penalty and getting mocked again and again. Even his coach could not comment on Ronaldo's epic fail.

More importantly, Portugal looked to be out of the tournament for good.

But that was the lowpoint for Ronaldo. From there it all went up.

The Turn

The match against Hungary was a do-or-die situation with the Portuguese falling behind early and often. Ronaldo single-handedly pulled them back into a draw on three separate occasions. The first was through an assist and then the latter two instances featured goals from CR7.

Portugal was through to the knockouts but few expected much against Croatia.

To that point in the tournament, Ronaldo had essentially sat up top waiting for service. He did not create much on his own. He was relatively uninvolved in the build-up, save for his lone assist to Nani against Hungary.

And for most of the game against Croatia, Ronaldo was chasing shadows.

But then something shocking happened. He went deep into his own defensive zone, won the ball through strength and determination and launched a counter attack. He wound up on the receiving end of that move, took the game's first shot on target and wound up creating the winning goal.

A Leader Born

Ronaldo's performance against Poland will never be remembered for how he squandered one chance after another, but for something quite different.

Four days earlier than that June 30 match, Lionel Messi stepped up to take a penalty and failed to lead his team to a victory. The defense? That Ronaldo would only wait for the fifth penalty and let everyone else take the glory. He had done it in the recent Champions League final and more infamously in 2012 when he failed to get a penalty at all in the semfinal against Spain. 

But low and behold, Ronaldo got that chance to set the tone for Portugal in a shootout and did it. He scored the opener where his rival could not and pushed the team forward. But that alone won't make history, but the moments that preceded that penalty.

With Portugal looking to pick its shooters, Ronaldo called out a reluctant Joao Moutinho as a kicker. He had missed in the shootout four years earlier against Spain and likely had those memories fresh in his mind.

But Ronaldo cared little and pushed his teammate to take the chance.  

It worked and Portugal was off to the semifinal against Wales.

Captain Clutch

Ronaldo scored arguably the goal of the tournament in that game, jumping nearly two meters to head home the winner of the game before creating the second goal. But what was more important was how Ronaldo dropped deep at times to support the team. There was even a defensive aspect to his game. He wanted this so badly that he would do anything to get the trophy. He was getting closer and closer to that goal, playing a stronger and more concise team game that played to his strengths and his team's. 

Selfless

Then came the proverbial lowpoint of the story. With the goal within reached, Ronaldo saw his knee knocked about by Dimitri Payet and with it, his chances at major glory. 

He tried again and again to play through it but wound up having to make a choice. Stay on for a chance at personal glory or accept fate and do the selfless thing.

His epiphany? He opted for the one no one would ever have imagined; especially coming from the man who selfishly begrudged another team its moment. He came off the pitch just 25 minutes into the game, opting for letting his teammates play the biggest game of his career without him. He would not be the hero on the pitch. 

But Ronaldo  did not sulk. In fact, reports indicate that he gave a half-time speech to rouse his troops and in extra time came on to motivate them. He told Eder that he would score the winner, prompting the Lille forward to score his first ever competitive international goal. Images of Ronaldo coaching from the sidelines will definitely define the Euro, as are those of him pushing an exhausted Raphael Guerreiro to get back on the pitch to finish the job.

At the end he lifted a trophy that he worked hard for. But his evolution throughout might just be the true story of the tournament.