NEW DELHI: Cristiano Ronaldo found himself at the center of a new FIFA World Cup 2026 controversy after his verified Instagram account liked a post accusing FIFA of helping him. Lionel MessiArgentina reaches the final. The incident added to a tournament that has already seen many controversies, including protests involving Iran, criticism over ticket prices, visa issues, Balogun’s suspended red card and the intervention of US President Donald Trump.Ronaldo has not publicly explained why he liked the post, but screenshots showing his verified account, @cristiano, among those who liked the video quickly spread on social media.
The Instagram reel was published by the account of the Spanish television program Espejo Público before the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina.The video featured journalist Pilar Rodríguez Losantos, who questioned Argentina’s journey to the finals and made strong accusations against FIFA.
She said: “Argentina is a team that should have been eliminated about five games ago, with the help of FIFA, which is one of the most corrupt institutions on planet Earth.”Argentina kicked off their World Cup title defense with a 3-0 win over Algeria, with Lionel Messi scoring a hat-trick. They followed it up with a 2-0 win over Austria, where Messi recovered from an early penalty miss to become the FIFA World Cup’s all-time top scorer.A much-changed Argentina defeated Jordan 3-1, with Messi coming off the bench to score as the defending champions finished top of their group.In the round of 32, they beat Cabo Verde 3-2 after extra time. Lisandro Martinez gave Argentina the lead in extra time before Cabo Verde equalized again. Cristian Romero’s header, which was deflected into the net by Diney Borges, eventually sealed the victory.The Round of 16 against Egypt produced another dramatic comeback. Argentina recovered from two goals down to win 3-2, with Enzo Fernandez completing the turnaround. The emotional win left Messi in tears as Argentina avoided an early exit.In the quarter-finals, Argentina defeated Switzerland 3-1 after extra time. Alexis Mac Allister opened the scoring before Dan Ndoye equalised. Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez battled it out in extra time against a 10-man Swiss team.The defending champions then produced another late comeback in the semi-final, beating England 2-1. Enzo Fernandez equalized with five minutes remaining before Lautaro Martinez scored the winner in stoppage time to send Argentina to another World Cup final.Argentina’s hopes of retaining the World Cup ended in the final.Spain defeated Lionel Scaloni’s side 1-0 after extra time, with substitute Ferran Torres scoring the only goal of the game in the 106th minute to give La Roja their second World Cup title.