Joao Neves should have been celebrating a dream start to his FIFA World Cup campaign after scoring Portugal's only goal against the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Instead, the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder found himself defending his girlfriend, Portuguese actress Madalena Aragao, after thousands of angry Cristiano Ronaldo supporters flooded their social media accounts with abusive comments.
The backlash erupted after Portugal's disappointing 1-1 draw in their opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. In a post-match interview, Neves described Ronaldo as 'just another player' in the squad and stressed that every member of the team had an equal role to play. The remarks, widely interpreted by some fans as disrespectful towards the Portuguese legend, triggered a social media storm that quickly spiralled beyond football. Comments flooded both accounts, with users urging Aragao to tell her boyfriend to 'respect' Ronaldo, while many questioned why an actress with no involvement in the match had become a target.
