FIFA World Cup: Trailblazer Ronaldo snubs question about Messi after World Cup explosion: "Next question"
When Cristiano Ronaldo does something special, Lionel Messi tries to one-up him. When Lionel Messi does something special, Cristiano Ronaldo tries to one-up him. Both players might say they don't pay attention to the other's accomplishments, but there's no doubt their competitive rivalry continues to drive them even to this day.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup has been no exception. Messi scoring five goals in his first two games seemed to light a fire under Ronaldo, who responded with a brace against Uzbekistan in a major bounce-back win for Portugal. Given his fantastic performance, the conversation should be about Ronaldo. But following the game, he couldn't escape Messi's name.
While speaking to the media in the mixed zone, a reporter began by asking about Messi scoring twice on Monday. Ronaldo quickly shut it down, pointing to a different reporter to ask another question. We don't know exactly what the question entailing Messi would have been, but Ronaldo was clearly annoyed.
To be fair to Ronaldo, he's had to deal with these questions regarding Messi throughout nearly his entire career. He has generally answered normally, but it appears that the pressure of this World Cup has led Ronaldo to adopt a "me against the world" mentality.
One can only imagine what a meeting in the knockout stages between Argentina and Portugal would be like.
Ronaldo is the first player to score in six World Cups in history.
The Portuguese player has scored at least one goal in every World Cup since 2006 and now has 10 in total.
At 41 years old, he made history by scoring Portugal's first goal against Uzbekistan. Cristiano powerfully struck home a perfect right-footed shot from a cross from the wing by Joao Cancelo, completing his sixth World Cup in style.
His second goal came off a great pass from Bruno Fernandes. Cristiano scored twice to silence the critics.
CR7 now has 10 goals in these six editions, having already scored World Cup goals in 2006 (1), 2010 (1), 2014 (1), 2018 (4), 2022 (1), and 2026 (2).
Until now, he shared the scoring record in five World Cups with Leo Messi, but the Argentine star did not score in 2010.
Messi leads the all-time scorers list with 18 goals, ahead of Kylian Mbappé (16) and Klose (16), while Cristiano trails far behind with 9.
