Cristiano Ronaldo’s sister vents rage at ‘disgusting barbarity’

Cristiano Ronaldo’s sister says the Portugal captain was targeted by “heartless words” in a bid to “erase who he is” before the five-time Ballon d’Or winner became the first player to score at six World Cup tournaments.

The oldest outfield player at the finals had gone five games without a World Cup goal and scored once in his previous eight appearances at the tournament before striking twice as part of his side’s 5-0 win over Uzbekistan in Houston on Tuesday.

“This week has been tough,” said Katia Aveiro. “It’s been a dark week full of unfair criticism and heartless words thrown at each other, as if they were trying to erase careers built on sweat, pain, discipline and inexplicable willpower.

“They wanted to hurt, they wanted to inflict pain, they wanted to humiliate. They wanted to talk about Cristiano as if he no longer had a place, as if his career was over, as if everything he gave to football, Portugal and the world could be forgotten overnight.

“They forgot that he was a man, a son, a father, a brother and simply a human being. It was disgusting to read and hear so much barbarity and ingratitude.”

World Cup 2026: Cristiano Ronaldo ‘pressure’

Ronaldo is the all-time top international scorer but had his second-fewest touches ever in a World Cup match as Portugal drew their opener 1-1 with DR Congo, taking possession 25 times as part of a team who had one attempt on target.

Head coach Roberto Martinez has repeatedly defended his selection of the 41-year-old, who is his country’s record 145-goal scorer.

“Unsurprisingly, he responded as he always did – on the pitch,” said Aveiro. “With tenacity. With fury in his eyes.

“With the strength of a man born to fight. With the heart of a warrior who never shied away from work, never gave up. He was always under pressure and never let outside noise define who he was.

“This is Cristiano Ronaldo. Son of Dolores and Dinis. Brother of Katia, Hugo, and Elma. A family man, a tireless worker, a top-level professional, an athlete who has made the dreams of millions come true and continues to rise every time someone tries to put him down.

“They may criticise, they may doubt, they may try to belittle him. But they will never be able to erase who he is: a fighter, a leader, an example of loyalty, discipline, and courage.”

Portugal vs Uzbekistan: Ronaldo ‘a legend’

Only nine players have bettered Ronaldo’s total of 10 goals at the tournament, although fellow modern greats Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe lead the all-time scorer standings.

Argentina skipper Messi has five goals at the current edition to take his tally to 18 and sit two ahead of France icon Kylian Mbappe, who has four goals at the 2026 tournament and is joint-second in the history books alongside former Germany hotshot Miroslav Klose.

“Again, he didn’t need grand speeches,” Aveiro said of the Al-Nassr talisman, who scored 30 goals in all competitions last season and won the Saudi Pro League despite going on a mid-season strike for two matches.

“He came to show why he was here. He spent 23 years breaking barriers and he came to show us why he deserves to be here.

“He came to remind us why he’s a legend. No matter what happens, this is destined for him. They should know it by now.

“I’m proud of you, my brother. Always. Until the day I die. Because I know where you come from, I know everything you fought for to get here, I know very well… what is in store for you.

“Real people never remain silent. Real people respond with work. And you, my brother, are and always will be a great man.”

World Cup 2026: What Ronaldo said about Portugal

Ronaldo claimed he does not care about his rival strikers and said the criticism Portugal had faced had been “difficult” and “very strong, especially towards me”.

“A great virtue is being able to control yourself,” he added. “That’s what I try to do. I have 23 or 24 years of experience and I can handle it well.

“Before the game I talked about some insights I had, because criticism always comes as an opportunity to improve.

“Today I was the best player on the pitch, tomorrow it will be someone else. If we are united, we can go very far,” he added.

The five-time Champions League winner dismissed an enquiry about a potential final against Argentina.

“I don’t know what to answer, as it’s a meaningless question,” he responded. “It would be great but the most important thing was to win to get through the group and be prepared for what’s to come.

“We have a difficult game against Colombia but the important thing was to get through the group and we did.

“I helped the team, which played very well, and we move on. We improved, that’s life.

“There are setbacks in life, in games, and we always want to improve… public opinion was very harsh on us, especially on me and the coach, but I’ve been in this profession for 23 years.

“When everything is going well, Cristiano is doing well. When things go wrong, he’s old, he’s retired.

“I always [make an impact]. Sooner or later, I’m there. I truly believe in what I do. My career has always been like this.”

World Cup 2026: Portugal fixtures

Here’s the full confirmed and potential schedule for Ronaldo at the FIFA World Cup 2026. You can also find out the UK TV schedule for the games here.

Cristiano Ronaldo World Cup schedule

Should Portugal justify their status as favourites to win their group, they will face a third-placed team from group D, E, I, J or L in the last 32.

Ronaldo’s team will meet the runners-up from that section if they come second and the team that wins it if they advance as one of the best-performing third-placed teams.

Group L contains England, Croatia, Ghana and Panama. You can see the full bracket on FIFA’s site.