Cristiano Ronaldo blows off reporter asking about Messi

After an anonymous performance in Portugal’s World Cup opener against DR Congo last week, Cristiano Ronaldo reintroduced himself to the world stage after scoring a brace against Uzbekistan on Tuesday. In doing so, Ronaldo joined a number of other global superstars like Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, and Erling Haaland in putting up multi-goal performances.

For fans of the beautiful game, there’s been no lack of big names scoring big goals. The 41-year-old Ronaldo just needed a bit more time to rev the engine.

That star power has been a storyline through the first two weeks of the tournament, as evidenced by the race for the golden boot. But Portugal’s legendary striker didn’t want to hear anything of it when asked about his chief rival, Messi, after finding the back of the net twice against Uzbekistan.

Cristiano Ronaldo didn’t want to hear any of this reporter’s question about Messi pic.twitter.com/uJRXMXmBNa

— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) June 23, 2026

“Yesterday, Lionel Messi scored two goals,” a reporter said, beginning to ask Ronaldo a question. But the second the name “Messi” left the reporter’s lips, Ronaldo turned away, encouraging another reporter to begin asking a new question.

“Go ahead,” Ronaldo could be heard repeating a few times, completely ignoring the question about Messi coming from the first reporter.

The rivalry between the Portuguese and Argentine stars is well-documented at this point in their careers, but there’s clearly still some sensitivity about the topic, at least from Ronaldo’s side of things. The two’s post-European club careers could not have tracked more different, with Ronaldo choosing to join Saudi side Al-Nassr where few pay attention, and Messi joining Inter Miami of MLS where he’s grown his brand for an American audience.

The reporter is well within his rights to ask a question about Messi, particularly given how both he and Ronaldo are performing well despite their advanced age. But Ronaldo certainly isn’t winning any fans over by refusing to address the reporter’s question, simply because Messi was mentioned.