Cristiano Ronaldo spoke to the press after his hat-trick against Uzbekistan, a result that saw him become Portugal’s all-time leading World Cup scorer with 10 goals and the first player in history to score in six FIFA World Cups.

He said it had been a challenging period leading into the match, but credited his mentality and work ethic for helping him respond.

“It was a difficult week, a dark week. It felt like I’d retired from soccer. But I hung in there, as I always do, because I believe in hard work more than anything else.”

Ronaldo also addressed criticism following Portugal’s draw with DR Congo, insisting he remained focused on delivering when it mattered.

“I’m back, I’m back.”

On Portugal’s overall display, he praised the team’s improvement and collective performance.

“I’m very happy. But for me, the most important thing is our work and the confidence we showed. The team performed really well and improved a lot.”

He also spoke on the significance of personal milestones, while stressing that team success remains the priority.

“Obviously, speaking personally, records are always nice, but my goal is always to help the national team achieve its objectives.”

Reflecting on momentum and resilience, he added:

“As the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining.”

Ronaldo is expected to recover and return to training ahead of Portugal’s next World Cup fixture against Colombia on 28 June.