India batter Virat Kohli backed his inspiration Cristiano Ronaldo as he backed his role model after Portugal crashed out of the World Cup quarter-final against Morocco on Saturday.

Free-scoring Portugal failed to find the net against a resilient Morocco as they lost 1-0, courtesy of Youssef En-Nesyri's towering header but a lot of focus was on the fact that Portuguese coach Fernando Santos for the second straight match left the five-time Ballon d'Or winner out of the playing eleven.

The 37-year-old came on in the second half but couldn't quite do it for his team on this occasion as he left the pitch in tears after the final whistle.

An avid Ronaldo admirer, Kohli later took to Twitter to support the Portuguese star calling him the greatest of all time.

"No trophy or any title can take anything away from what you've done in this sport and for sports fans around the world. No title can explain the impact you've had on people and what I and so many around the world feel when we watch you play. That's a gift from god. A real blessing to a man who plays his heart out every single time and is the epitome of hard work and dedication and a true inspiration for any sportsperson. You are for me the greatest of all time," the former India captain tweeted.