Cape Town - Cristiano Ronaldo's Soccer World Cup adventure ended on a sour note on Tuesday as he faced accusations of spitting at a cameraman following Portugal's 1-0 loss to Spain in their Round of 16 match at the Green Point Stadium.

According to the sify newswebsite, as he left the field after Portugal were rolled over by a dominant Spain, Ronaldo looked at the cameraman following him and appeared to spit at the feet of the cameraman.

Whether it was intentional or not is unclear, but several users on Twitter lambasted the superstar for being a poor loser.

The Real Madrid midfielder was expected to be a star at the tournament, but he has played second fiddle to the likes of Spain's David Villa - whose fourth goal in to date won the match for Spain - and Argentina's Gonzalo Higuain who is also on four goals.

Ronaldo only scored once, in Portugal's 7-0 thumping of North Korea, but even then he needed several lucky bounces off his back and head to present him with the opportunity.

It was his first international goal in 16 months, and his time in South Africa is now likely to be remembered mainly for an apparent act of petulance.

Ronaldo wasn't the only player to have a run-in with a cameraman. Argentina's Gabriel Heinze had an altercation during his team's victory over Mexico in their Round of 16 clash.

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