Cristiano Ronaldo snubs Lionel Messi questions after Portugal’s World Cup win

Portugal forward refused to discuss his Argentine rival after his team's blowout win over Uzbekistan on Tuesday, walking away from reporters

Published Jun 24, 2026  •  Last updated 25 minutes ago  •  2 minute read

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo (left) and Argentina's Lionel Messi during FIFA World Cup 2026. Getty Images

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If there’s one thing that Cristiano Ronaldo has proven he’s better at than Lionel Messi, it’s being petty.

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The Portuguese superstar, who has spent his career battling Messi for the title of GOAT, refused to answer questions about the Argentine superstar following his team’s blowout win over Uzbekistan on Tuesday.

After Ronaldo was named the man of the match at Houston Stadium after scoring his first two goals of the 2026 World Cup, the Al-Nassr FC star took questions from reporters in the mixed zone.

While he was happy to talk about his accomplishments and those of his team, he had no interest in discussing his greatest rival.

When a question about Messi was raised, Ronaldo quickly turned away and nodded toward another reporter to “go ahead” several times before the first journalist had even finished asking the question.

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That wasn’t all from the 41-year-old forward.

After another journalist began asking about Messi’s hat trick against Algeria, Ronaldo turned away and left the mixed zone, saying “I couldn’t care less about the others.”

As he continued walking, he added: “Kylian Mbappe also scored a goal.”

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How have CR7 and Messi been playing?

Ronaldo and Messi have been rivals for the better part of the 21st century, with both players rewriting the sport’s record books and facing off in heated battles during their time at Real Madrid and Barcelona.

During Tuesday’s match, Ronaldo became the first player to score in six different World Cups and raised his career tournament total to 10 goals in 24 games.

Messi, with five goals through two games so far in the tournament, equalled and then broke the record held by Miroslav Klose for the most World Cup goals. Messi’s 18 goals are two more than both Klose and Mbappe, who has 16 in just 16 World Cup matches.

While Ronaldo and Messi have both reached unimaginable heights in soccer, the Argentine has one achievement his rival is still chasing: A World Cup championship.

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Messi led Argentina to its third championship at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, while Portugal has yet to win the sport’s biggest prize.

With both teams looking likely to advance to the knockout stage — Argentina has already qualified, while Portugal sits second in Group K behind Colombia— there’s a chance the two rivals could square off in just a couple of weeks.

If Portugal wins Group K, the two countries would be on course to meet in the quarterfinals.

However, if Portugal remains in second place, it would move to the other side of the bracket and play its Round of 32 match in Toronto on July 2.

That would mean the teams couldn’t meet until the final on July 19 in New York — a dream scenario for FIFA, even if the odds remain long.

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