The Portuguese soccer player called on another reporter before the question about his rival was finished
- Cristiano Ronaldo seemingly avoided a question about Lionel Messi in a post-game interview
- The two star athletes, who have faced off in matches before, are on track to play each other for the first time in a FIFA World Cup
- “It would be awesome,” Ronaldo said of the possibility
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Cristiano Ronaldo appeared to have dodged a question about Lionel Messi after he made World Cup history.
Ronaldo, 41, spoke to reporters in a post-match interview after scoring twice in Portugal’s 5-0 win over Uzbekistan on Tuesday, June 23.
In a video shared to social media by Fox Sports and translated in text to English, the soccer star seemingly cut a reporter’s question short as soon as Messi’s name was mentioned.
“Yesterday Lionel Messi scored two goals,” the reporter began off-camera before the sports star abruptly turned in the other direction and moved on to the next person to take their question instead.
“Go ahead,” Ronaldo, who became the first player to score in six men’s World Cups, said in the clip.
A rep for Ronaldo did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Elsewhere in the interview, Ronaldo engaged with reporters when he was asked what it would be like to play against Messi, 38, for the first time as their respective teams prepare for the possibility of facing each other as they advance in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
“I don’t know how to answer that,” Ronaldo said, according to ESPN. “But, well, it would be awesome.”
Ronaldo and Messi have played each other in 35 official club competitions, per Fox Sports. Of those matches, Messi has won 16, and Ronaldo has won 10 with nine draws. Ronaldo has not won a FIFA World Cup, while Messi won the FIFA World Cup with Argentina in 2022.
On Monday, June 22, the Argentine soccer star broke the record for career goals at the World Cup, scoring his 17th and 18th goals against Austria, beating the record previously held by Germany’s Miroslav Klose. (French forward Kylian Mbappé tied Klose’s record on June 22, scoring his 16th World Cup goal during the team’s 3-0 win over Iraq.)
After the game, Messi described the career milestone as “special,” per The Guardian.
He continued, “Like I’ve said other times, I enjoy playing, having a good time on the pitch. I wasn’t necessarily having one on the penalty, but with luck we were able to work through that situation, take the advantage and leave with three points.”
During Tuesday’s match, Ronaldo and Portugal notched a 5-0 win over Uzbekistan, with Ronaldo scoring two goals during the match. He also earned his own place in World Cup history, becoming the first player to score in six different World Cups, according to ESPN.
As World Cup play continues, Messi and Argentina are set to take on Jordan on Saturday, June 27, while Portugal and Ronaldo will face Colombia.
