Gaza, November 20, 2025 – In the rubble-strewn playgrounds of Al-Shifa Hospital and the shattered streets of Jabalia, the walls that still stand are covered with faded drawings of number 7. Children who have lost limbs, homes, and families still whisper “Siuuu” when they try to smile. For years, Cristiano Ronaldo was more than a footballer to them; he was proof that a boy from nowhere could conquer the world. Yet when the bombs fell hardest, when over 17,000 Palestinian children had been killed since October 2023, the man whose posters once brought light into blackout nights said nothing.
Not a single post. Not one story. Not even a black square.
While Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, and Mohamed Salah used their platforms (however cautiously) to call for ceasefires and humanitarian corridors, Ronaldo’s 650 million Instagram followers saw only gym selfies, NFT promotions, and celebrations of Al-Nassr goals. The silence was deafening, and in Gaza it felt like betrayal.
Yesterday, in a cramped classroom in Rafah now serving as a shelter for displaced families, 12-year-old Ahmed (who lost both legs to an airstrike in 2024) spoke to reporters through tears of rage rather than sorrow. Clutching a tattered Portugal jersey he had kept since 2018, he said: “We waited every day for Cristiano to speak. We thought if anyone understood rising from nothing, it was him. Even Ronaldo, whose name had filled our dreams, remained silent as we were shattered. The footballers turned their backs on the children of Gaza, but we never turned our backs on them.”
The pain deepened last week when Ronaldo, speaking at a sponsorship event in Dubai, was asked about global leadership. Without hesitation he declared: “Cristiano Ronaldo says Donald Trump is the man who has the power to change the world if he wants. He’s strong, he’s direct, and he gets things done.” The clip went viral within hours. In Gaza, where American-made bombs continue to fall, the statement landed like another explosion.
Social media erupted. #RonaldoBetrayedGaza trended across the Arab world. Former teammates spoke out. Marcus Rashford posted a broken-heart emoji over a photo of Gaza’s child amputees. Even Piers Morgan, Ronaldo’s longtime defender, wrote a rare critical column titled “Silence Is No Longer Golden.”
Palestinian journalist Wael Al-Dahdouh, who lost his own son to an Israeli strike while reporting, addressed Ronaldo directly on air: “You told our children to dream big. They did. They dreamed of you caring.”
Ronaldo’s management issued a brief statement yesterday claiming his words about Trump were “taken out of context” and that he “prays for peace everywhere.” But no apology followed. No donation announcement. No acknowledgment of the 43,000 dead. Just more silence.
In the end, the children of Gaza are teaching the world a painful lesson: heroes are human, and sometimes the loudest voices go quiet when humanity needs them most. Ahmed still wears the number 7 jersey, but now he has drawn a Palestinian flag over Ronaldo’s name. “We loved him with all our hearts,” he said, voice cracking. “But hearts can break.”
And in Gaza, where childhood itself has become a casualty, some breaks can never be mended.
