Ronaldo 'Back' After Slump: "Felt Like I Had Retired This Past Week"

Having overcome his recent slump in major tournaments to become the first player in history to score in six different World Cups, Cristiano Ronaldo has expressed his determination to focus on his duties rather than pay attention to criticism.

Following the second match of Group K in the 2026 North and Central America World Cup against Uzbekistan, held at Houston Stadium in the United States on June 24 (KST), Ronaldo shouted "I'm back!" twice toward the cameras.

In this match, Ronaldo signaled his resurgence just as he had declared.

Scoring the opening winning goal just six minutes into the match, Ronaldo became the first player in World Cup history to score in six consecutive tournaments.

He has participated in every tournament since the 2006 Germany World Cup and has scored in each one.

After netting his second goal of the match in the 39th minute, Ronaldo reached 10 career World Cup goals, surpassing the "legend" Eusébio (9 goals) to become the sole leader in all-time World Cup scoring for Portugal.

In a post-match interview, Ronaldo stated, "Breaking records is always a good feeling, but my goal is to help the national team achieve its objectives."

Portugal, which faced criticism from fans after a 1-1 draw against the Democratic Republic of the Congo on June 18 where Ronaldo failed to score, regained its stature as a title contender with the resurgence of Ronaldo, who broke a goal-scoring drought that had lasted for 10 matches across the World Cup and the Euros.

Reflecting on the period after the first match, Ronaldo confessed, "It was a difficult and gloomy week. It felt like I had already retired from football."

He continued, "But I endured, as I always have. I believe in hard work more than anything else," and emphasized, "I admit it was a tough time, but we are back."

He added, "I have been a professional for 23 years. When I do well, people say, 'Cristiano is great,' and when things don't go well, they say, 'He should retire' or 'He is old.' It has always been like that," and said, "This match was a good answer for me and my teammates, and this is exactly what we wanted."

In this tournament, as Ronaldo's "eternal rival" Lionel Messi (Argentina) has taken the lead in scoring with 5 goals in 2 matches, and Kylian Mbappé (France) and Erling Haaland (Norway) have scored 4 goals each, the race for the Golden Boot has intensified with Ronaldo now joining the fray.

Ronaldo said, "I have always been in that position. I might be a little late, but I eventually end up there. That is why I continue to do this," adding, "I have strong faith in what I do, and I am confident that I work hard."

When asked if he wanted to face Messi in this tournament, he replied, "It feels like a somewhat meaningless question, so I don't know how to answer, but it would be cool regardless. However, the most important thing is today's match."

Ronaldo added, "Today I did very well, scored a goal, and helped the team. The team is also doing well," and concluded, "Now we have to move on to the next one."

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.