John Terry calls Ronaldo a liar after he praised Piers Morgan's abs

John Terry has jokingly branded Cristiano Ronaldo a liar after the Portugal forward paid Piers Morgan a compliment about his abdominals, with the former England captain delivering a sharp dig that caught Ronaldo in the crossfire.

Morgan had been defending Ronaldo following widespread criticism of the 41-year-old’s performance in Portugal’s shock 1-1 draw with DR Congo — a game in which he managed just 25 touches and failed to test goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi-Nzau with any of his three shots. Speaking on Sport Uncensored, Morgan praised Ronaldo’s physique and conduct, before recalling a moment the Al Nassr striker had complimented him. “If you look at my X feed, my pinned tweet is a clip from Ronaldo looking at me and saying, ‘yeah you have good abdominals’,” Morgan said.

Terry’s response was swift and pointed. “He’s a top player and a f* liar as well,” the Chelsea icon said, in a clear swipe at Morgan’s self-assessment.

The exchange provided some light relief around what had been a difficult week for Ronaldo, who faced questions about his role in Roberto Martinez’s squad after the DR Congo stalemate, with Joao Neves’ sixth-minute header cancelled out by Newcastle United striker Yoane Wissa on the stroke of half-time.

Ronaldo answered his critics emphatically on Tuesday, scoring twice as Portugal cruised to a 5-0 victory, opening the scoring before adding a second before the break to put his side firmly on course for the knockout rounds.

“I can tell you it was a very tough week, a difficult week, a week in which public opinion was very harsh on us, all the players, especially the coach,” Ronaldo said after the win. “Whenever things go well, ‘Cristiano is good’; when things go badly, ‘he’s retired, he’s old’. It will always be like that. But it was a good response for me and my team-mates.”

Ronaldo had also seen his profile temporarily overshadowed at the tournament by the performances of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland, but the veteran forward was philosophical about his own trajectory. “I always get there. Maybe late, but I’m there,” he said. “My career has always been like this, and I’m very happy.”