Ronaldo has praised Miroslav Klose's scoring achievements after the German striker fell just short of the Brazilian World Cup winner's 15-goal all-time tournament record.
Klose's four goals in South Africa took him to 14 strikes across the past three World Cups, one less than Ronaldo's record tally amassed during the 1998, 2002 and 2006 tournaments.
A back injury cruelly robbed Klose the chance to play in Germany's third-place play-off against Uruguay, a traditionally high-scoring fixture in which he would have had a strong chance of entering the history books. At 32, Klose is unlikely to play in another World Cup.
Ronaldo said he would have been happy to see Klose break his record, but praised his 14-goal tally as a "fantastic" achievement.
"Congratulations to Klose, to score 14 goals at the World Cup is fantastic. It's sad that he did not play on Saturday," Ronaldo told AFP. "I was not opposed to him breaking my record. I have made my history. Now it is time for others to write their stories."
Germany coach Joachim Low said Klose wanted to play against Uruguay despite his injury but ultimately put the team ahead of his personal ambitions.
Low said: "He really wanted to play, but after training on Saturday he said to me that would not be able to take his place in the team. He was disappointed but he knew that we couldn't allow a player who was only 80-percent fit to take part."
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