Cristiano Ronaldo featured in a tense moment during the press conference following Portugal's overwhelming victory over Uzbekistan (5-0) at the 2026 World Cup, as he flatly refused to answer a question about Lionel Messi.
The incident occurred on Tuesday at the NRG Stadium in Houston, during the second matchday of Group K, according to Mundo Deportivo in its match report.
When a journalist began his question by mentioning that Messi had scored two goals the day before, the Portuguese forward looked away, completely ignored him, and turned to another colleague with a "come on, come on, come on" to ask a different question.
To this second interviewer, Ronaldo issued a warning directed at everyone present: "It depends on the question; otherwise, I won't answer you."
The video of the moment quickly circulated on social media and was picked up by media outlets around the world, reigniting the debate over the eternal rivalry between the two star footballers of their generation.
The reaction is striking because it occurred at the peak of Ronaldo's glory in this World Cup. With his brace against Uzbekistan -goals in the sixth and 39th minutes-, the 41-year-old forward became the first player in history to score in six different editions of the World Cup: 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022, and 2026.
Additionally, with his 10 World Cup goals, he surpassed the nine of Portuguese legend Eusébio—a record that had remained intact for 60 years—and became Portugal's all-time leading scorer in the tournament.
The double was also a response to his critics after a highly scrutinized debut: in the 1-1 draw against the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ronaldo touched the ball only 29 times, did not shoot on goal, and had been on a streak of 10 matches without scoring in major tournaments with the national team.
The context surrounding the question was equally explosive. On Monday, Messi became the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history by scoring his 17th goal against Austria in Dallas, surpassing the German Miroslav Klose, who had 16. It was precisely that goal that the journalist wanted to bring up in front of Ronaldo.
The rivalry between both players has been fueled for over 15 years by the media and fans, although the players themselves have always downplayed the matter in public.
Last May, Messi stated in an interview: "We never had a relationship," although he clarified that their interactions were "always good and respectful" and described the competition as a "beautiful sports rivalry."
Portugal leads Group K with four points and will face Colombia on June 27 in what will be their final group stage match, with qualification for the round of 16 virtually secured.
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