“Welcome to WC 2026 – the dystopian edition”
When Joao Neves, 21, said what he said, he probably didn’t see the aftermath ahead of him.
He and girlfriend Madalena Aragao were harassed and Cristiano Ronaldo’s fiancee Georgina Rodriguez was cheated on.
All because he answered a question about Ronaldo.
– We know what Cristiano Ronaldo has done for our national team and for the football world. But right now I feel that he, for himself and for everyone else, is one of us. A guy trying to help. He is no different than the rest of us and he will contribute in the same way that we all will.
The quote above comes from Joao Neves and was made right after Portugal’s first group stage match, 1-1 against Congo-Kinshasa. Neves scored the team’s only goal and afterwards he had to answer how Portugal, as a strong collective, handles having such a big star in the team.
The answer is nothing strange. Neves emphasizes that it is a team sport and that Ronaldo is part of the team – despite his star status being perhaps the greatest in the entire World Cup.
But the times are what they are and social media stepped into the action.
Cut version spread
The Athletic writes that a cut-down version was spread on various social media platforms – and there the context was completely different. In those versions, it appears that Neves is implying that Ronaldo is an “ordinary player”.
As you know, Cristiano Ronaldo’s popularity is huge. He has his critics but he also has those who defend him.
Neves felt that.
People who saw the cut version of the interview have rushed to his comments section and written both one and the other. The Athletic writes that the same thing also happened to Bruno Fernandes and Vitinha. The point should be that Ronaldo deserves respect and that they should fit him more often.
Georgina was deceived
But the players weren’t the only ones who got to feel that they were alive in the commentary fields.
Madalena Aragao, Joao Neves’ girlfriend, posted a picture of herself and Neves but had to limit the number of people who could reply to her post. It happened after someone faked a reply in which she suggested Ronaldo was selfish and should retire.
That prompted Ronaldo’s fiancee, Georgina Rodriguez, to speak out, believing that what Aragao wrote was real:
“Wow! Look how the future generation is raised”, she wrote, posting a screenshot of Aragao’s fake quote.
She later removed it when she realized it was made up.
“Welcome to WC 2026 – the dystopian edition”, writes The Athletic.
Was criticized
Whether the social media storm has affected the Portuguese camp we do not know.
The team plays tonight, 19.00 Swedish time, against Uzbekistan and both the team and Ronaldo want revenge after 1-1 against Congo-Kinshasa.
Ronaldo and national team captain Roberto Martinez was criticized after the match. The 41-year-old played the whole match but left without a goal without being much involved in the game.
Portugal-Uzbekistan kicks off 7pm – follow it here!
