LISBON, June 9 -- The number that frames everything is five. Five World Cups, 14 goals, one record that Lionel Messi himself has never matched: the distinction of being the only male player to score in five different editions of the tournament. And yet, measured purely against the weight of expectation - against what Ronaldo demands of himself and what the sport demands of him - the ledger reads as complicated as any in modern football.

With the 2026 World Cup now underway across the United States, Canada and Mexico, a 41-year-old Ronaldo is preparing one final assault on the only major trophy missing from a career that has otherwise consumed every conceivable record. Before that sixth campaign begins, here are the five moments that most...