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Ronaldo declared: “I’m back!” after scoring twice against Uzbekistan
Portugal is a star player Christiano Ronaldo came off the schneid against Uzbekistan on Tuesday, as his two goals were not only his first in a major international tournament in the last ten matches, but also made him the first player ever to score in six different matches. World Cups.
Much has been made about it Ronaldos recent performances for the Portuguese national team recently, especially after his anonymous performance against DR Congo in Portugal’s first match World Cup.
However, the 41-year-old was proven right against Uzbekistan when he scored two first-half goals in Portugal’s 5-0 win. The ever image-conscious Ronaldo heard the story about him clearly in recent weeks, as he turned to the camera and shouted: “I’m back!” after scoring one of his goals.
Ronaldo was surely desperate to keep up with the other football superstars at the tournament, such as Kylian Mbappe (four goals), Erling Haaland (four goals), Mohamed Salah (one goal, two assists), Harry Kane (two goals) and Lionel Messi (five goals) and delivered standout performances equal to their legacy in the modern game.
Ronaldo’s two-goal performance against Uzbekistan highlighted the differences between he and Lionel Messi, about whom he refused to answer a question
However, his long-standing rivalry with Messi has likely added fuel to his fire, which has conversely led to him reminding everyone of the fundamental difference between the two when it comes to their sporting personalities: Messi is humble and uses his achievements to take his team to the next level, while Ronaldo is idolized and focuses on himself.
This is a pretty fundamental difference between him and Lionel Messi.
Messi didn’t even post about breaking the record yesterday.
And right after winning a huge match, Ronaldo shouts about himself. https://t.co/xUXKTTOj36
— Out of context football manager (@nocontextfm1) June 23, 2026
After the match, Ronaldo continued his performative yet purposeful bitterness towards Messi as he ignored a question about the 39-year-old Argentine legend – or, since we’re in the football sphere, as the British would put it, ‘mugged’.
Cristiano Ronaldo did not want to hear any questions from this reporter about Messi pic.twitter.com/uJRXMXmBNa
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) June 23, 2026
If Messi were asked this, he would probably say something like “we’ve both been doing this for a while” or something like that
while Ronaldo really despises Messi for some reason….. https://t.co/noIbLBx2uJ
— 𝐏𝐒𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐓 (@PSGINT_) June 23, 2026
“God helps those who work hard. I knew my teammates would help too,” Ronaldo said after the match. “It was a difficult week, a dark week. It felt like I had quit football. But I persevered, as I always do, because I believe in hard work more than anything.”
“I always come. Sooner or later I’ll be there. It’s about continuing the work. I really believe that God helps those who work hard,” he added. “It’s always been that way in my career, nothing will change. I’m very happy.”
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who seems to put his bombastic nonsense aside as he talks about Messi, had a sharp and concise analysis of Ronaldo’s ego and the way he presents it.
🇵🇹 @Ibra_official shares his thoughts about @Cristiano Ronaldo’s dominant performance for Portugal pic.twitter.com/c1bFNQy13P
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) June 23, 2026
Ronaldo’s two goals on Tuesday now give him 10 all-time goals at the World Cup, making him fourth all-time behind Miroslav Klose (16), Mbappe (16) and Messi (18).
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