FIFA World Cup 2026: Cristiano Ronaldo sparked yet another controversy. This time around, the Portuguese forward did not issue a statement belittling a tournament or a league but made headlines for his social media activity. The 41-year-old, who plays for Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League, liked an Instagram post alleging corruption by the Argentina national team. In the video, Spanish journalist Pilar Rodriguez Losantos is seen alleging FIFA helped Lionel Messi’s Argentina on their route to the final of the World Cup.Â
Screenshots went viral showing Ronaldo’s official Instagram account, @cristiano, liking the viral reel. The video was uploaded by a Spanish TV programme, Espejo Publico before Spain faced Argentina in the World Cup final. Even though it was La Roja who defeated the Messi-led side in the final, there had been speculation raised by different forms of media questioning the legitimacy of Argentina’s route to the final.Â
Cristiano Ronaldo reignites rivalry debate with Lionel Messi with Instagram like
Cristiano Ronaldo likes Instagram video accusing FIFA of corruption and alleging that they helped Argentina reach the World Cup final. pic.twitter.com/Lbk1MTlo0R
— Pop Base (@PopBase) July 20, 2026
This incident was soon linked to Ronaldo’s long-standing rivalry with Messi, which has been one of football’s major divisive issues for football supporters for almost two decades now. Public encounters between the two stars of football are heavily monitored, and the least criticism from one directed to the other will instantly be blown out of proportion, which adds to the importance of Ronaldo’s reaction here. The issue gained further publicity as Portugal themselves had just been defeated in the round of 16 by Spain in their own World Cup campaign, an event which was also mentioned and confirmed by Ronaldo afterwards as being the end of his football career at the international stage level, his greatest stage as a football player.
Argentina’s controversial run to the FIFA World Cup 2026 final
Controversy persisted about the Argentina refereeing decisions after their astonishing 3-2 win over Egypt in the round of 16. Egypt were upset after a goal was disallowed on review via the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) and after a late penalty appeal was turned down just before Argentina scored the winning goal.Â
FIFA refereeing chief Pierluigi Collina was highly critical of the Egyptians in his role in ensuring the fair treatment of officials. The argument and explanations for the controversial decisions mustn’t be fundamentally shaky if you are to ensure that a case of corruption or any other misconduct is unequivocally proved.
