There are some people who genuinely wanted Cristiano Ronaldo to fade away quietly, and on the evidence of what he just did in Portugal's World Cup campaign, those people are going to be waiting a very long time.
Ronaldo became the first player in the history of football to score at six separate World Cup tournaments, and if that does not shut a few people up then nothing will. He celebrated by pointing to himself and declaring he was back, which is very on brand for a man who has never once struggled to believe in himself even when the rest of the world started to wobble.
The criticism of Ronaldo over the past year or so has been pretty relentless. His time at Manchester United ended messily, his move to Al Nassr raised plenty of eyebrows, and there were genuine questions about whether he still had what it takes at the very highest level. International football is not the Saudi Pro League, and a World Cup is not a friendly, so this record carries real weight.
What makes it even more impressive is the context. Ronaldo is not a young man playing in his prime anymore. He is doing this at an age when most footballers are either retired, doing punditry, or opening their third restaurant. Yet here he is, breaking barriers that Pele and Messi never managed to break, and doing it on the biggest stage in the sport.
Now it would be fair to point out that goal records and individual moments do not always translate into team success, and Portugal will need more than Ronaldo magic if they want to go deep in this tournament. A team wins World Cups, not one player, and Portugal have plenty of quality around him to make a proper run at it.
But right now, in this moment, it is hard not to just appreciate what Ronaldo has achieved. Six World Cups, six tournaments with a goal, and a place in history that nobody can ever take away from him. The man said he was back. You probably should have believed him.
Let me know your thoughts.