Cristiano mumbles “In the name of God” and the platforms wonder: Did “The Don” convert to Islam? | sports

The match between Portugal and Croatia in the 2026 World Cup witnessed an exciting moment, when star Cristiano Ronaldo scored the equalizer from a penalty kick, after cameras caught him muttering “In the Name of God” before executing the kick.

Croatia opened the scoring in the 53rd minute through Ivan Persic, with a goal that terrified Ronaldo, who showed signs of worry on his face, before he gathered his strength and executed the kick successfully, becoming the oldest player to score in the World Cup knockout stages at the age of 41 years and 147 days.

Camera lenses caught Ronaldo, known as “The Don,” muttering the phrase “In the Name of God” more than once while playing for the Saudi Al-Nasr Club, which raised questions about whether he had converted to Islam, especially with his repeating the phrase at crucial moments during matches.

The platforms witnessed widespread interaction with this snapshot, and the episode (7/3/2026) of the “Shabakat” program highlighted the varying interpretations of activists between those who saw it as evidence of Ronaldo’s conversion to Islam, those who considered it merely a motivational phrase or a sporting habit, and those who wondered why this particular moment was chosen to utter it.

The tweeter, Daja, wrote that she believes Ronaldo is Muslim, and said:

Of course, Cristiano has converted to Islam, but he has not declared it yet, because it is unnatural for him to say the basmalah during the most crucial moments of his life unless he believes in it with all his heart.

While activist Fran Peterson expressed her surprise by saying:

He knows the cameras are on him, so why would he say that?

While tweeter Rabdan pointed out some rumors that said:

If Ronaldo takes the World Cup, he will announce his conversion to Islam in Washington, with President Donald Trump in the White House

As for the tweeter, Morrissey, she considered that the phrase might be a habit in the context of self-motivation, and she tweeted:

I think he’s saying, “Vis Markar, Vis Markar, I’ll score, I’ll score.” He’s used it as a slogan to motivate himself before, but the “In the Name of God” theory is great, and I’m going to start using that phrase and see what happens.”

In the 80th minute, the coach took Ronaldo off the field despite the Don’s annoyance at the change, but substitute Goncalo Ramos scored the winning goal for Portugal in the 94th minute with a deadly header that dashed Croatia’s hopes.