World Cup 2026 ‘not a dream’ says Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo captured football’s top awards, including five Ballon d’Or awards, five Champions League titles, and even a European Championship with Portugal. Among the prestige, one trophy has eluded his stacked trophy case: the FIFA World Cup.

Portugal has never come close to a World Cup trophy with Cristiano Ronaldo. Their most recent run in 2022 ended in the quarterfinals after a stunning 1-0 defeat to Morocco.

The real story came after the match, after Ronaldo was seen visibly emotional heading into the locker room.

It seemed that the 2022 World Cup was Ronaldo’s last chance at capturing football’s most decorated trophy and could have been the most definitive proof of his greatness over Lionel Messi, who went on to win that year’s trophy with Argentina.

But Ronaldo, ever the machine, has defied all odds and is still playing at the highest level, albeit at a weaker league in the Saudi Professional League with Al Nassr, and is seeking one last run at a World Cup in 2026.

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• 🚨🗣️ Cristiano Ronaldo back in 2020: “I want the World Cup. I’ve won trophies at every club I’ve been at, but the World Cup is my BIG DREAM.”

• 🚨🗣️ Cristiano Ronaldo today: “It’s NOT A DREAM for me to win the World Cup… You want a World Cup to define the best player in… pic.twitter.com/oD6lnJrf0e

— The Touchline | 𝐓 (@TouchlineX) November 4, 2025

But for Ronaldo, winning the World Cup does not hold as much significance as everyone wants it to be.

“If you ask me, ‘Cristiano, is it a dream to win the World Cup?’ No, it’s not a dream,” Ronaldo said in an interview with media personality Piers Morgan.

Critics have long said a World Cup can define who the real greatest of all time is between Ronaldo and Messi. 

This is why many fans have hailed Messi as the greatest after winning the World Cup in 2022, a notion in which Ronaldo very much disagrees.

“Define what? To define if I’m one of the best in history, to win one competition, [of] six games, seven games. You think it’s fair?” he said.

Winning the World Cup in 2026 would undoubtedly be a fitting end to one of the most decorated careers in football history, but according to Ronaldo, he will still go down as one of the best in history, with or without a World Cup trophy.

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