The life of an athlete is made up of great highs but also big lows.

Whether it’s the pressure to perform, a horror moment on the pitch, bad times off it or an injury, all the world’s top athletes have suffered this low.

These are the worst moments in the careers of some of sport’s greats.

Cristiano Ronaldo

The forward knew he was carrying an injury going into Portugal’s Euro 2016 final against France and was forced off in the first half.

“During the week, I felt that my knee was a bit weak. I felt that my knee wasn’t 100 percent. It was something I did or a bad kicking action,” he revealed to DAZN.

Leo Messi

In an interview with RAC1, the Barcelona forward revealed that his worst moment came in the 2013/14 season.

“I started to have problems with the tax office, it was very difficult for me and my family. I was also injured for two or three months,” he said.

Jose Mourinho

Just months after winning the Premier League, Jose Mourinho was sacked as Chelsea boss after a poor start to the following season.

“I define it as the worst period in my career, with the worst results of my career,” he said. “It’s came very late [in my career], but I also see it as a fantastic experience. It’s very late to come, it should come after three or four years.”

Toni Kroos

The German midfielder has won it all, but he’s also lost on the big stage. When asked on Twitter what his worst moment was, he pointed to Bayern Munich’s penalty defeat to Chelsea in the 2012 Champions League final.

Mauricio Pochettino

The former Tottenham coach has two moments that come to mind when he thinks about his lowest point as a football player and coach: the 2002 World Cup and the 2019 Champions League final.

“It was very hard,” he said about losing to Liverpool in Madrid. “I compare it with the summer of 2002 when, in a week, we drew with Sweden and lost to England in the World Cup group stages. As a player and coach, those moments are the worst of my career.”

Pau Gasol

The basketball star looks to one moment with his national team and one moment with the LA Lakers as his lowest points.

“One of the worst moments [of my career] was with Spain at Eurobasket in 2007 at home. We lost the final by a point when I had the final shot to win the game,” he said. “In 2008, losing the first final with the Lakers was also very painful.”

Neymar

A back injury in the quarter-finals of the 2014 World Cup is Neymar’s lowest moment.

“That lesson was my worst moment because of what happened that week. I only cried at home, I saw my mum and dad crying, everyone sad, my friends, family,” he said. “I couldn’t stand up and the doctor pulled me up and I started to cry because it hurt so much and I didn’t feel anything, I couldn’t feel anything in my legs.”

Roger Federer

The Swiss tennis legend singled out 2003 as the worst year of his career.

“My most difficult moment was when I lost in the first round against Luis Horna in Paris. Lots of people questioned me,” he said. “I also ended up getting knocked out at the same stage at Wimbledon and Roland Garros.”

Rafa Nadal

The Spaniard is still going strong at the age of 33, but it almost all stopped 15 years ago.

“His specialist said that his career at the top had finished,” Nadal’s uncle and coach Toni Nadal said in 2005. “When, as an athlete, you get injured, you always go through the worst moment. But Rafa resolved his problems in the best way possible.”

Luis Suarez

The Uruguayan chose biting Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup as his worst moment.

“I felt that I wasn’t happy that we’d got through and that I’d let a lot of people down, starting with myself, my country, my wife, my children, for being a role model… It was the worst moment,” he said.

Gianluigi Buffon

The Italian’s lowest moment came just months after winning the World Cup in Germany.

“For some months, everything stopped having meaning, it was like everyone was asking about Buffon but no one wanted to know of Gianluigi,” he said. “It was a very difficult time.

“I was 25 and was at the peak of my career, but one day before a match in Serie A, I went to [Juventus goalkeeping coach] Ivano Bordon and told him: ‘Ivano, tell [Antonio] Chimenti to warm up and play, I don’t feel able to do it.’ I’d suffered a panic attack.”

Valtteri Bottas

The Mercedes driver admitted he’s struggled as Lewis Hamilton’s partner at the Formula 1 team.

“I only wanted to perform well and I couldn’t do it in certain races because of different reasons. There are lots of unknowns as Hamilton was very strong and the distance between us both was growing,” he said.

Claudio Ranieri

The Italian coach is an idol at Valencia, but he doesn’t remember his second spell at Mestalla very fondly.

“When I arrived, I told the president Juan Soler that we were going to have a very difficult season because they’d achieved something impossible. They’d won LaLiga and the UEFA Cup with [Rafa] Benitez,” he said.

Diego Simeone

El Cholo remembers a tough spell as San Lorenzo boss as the worst in his career.

“It’s a difficult moment, without doubt, but I believe in what we’re doing and, on the pitch, for the attitude and inclination, I can’t say anything to the players,” he said at the time.