In a video posted from early July, Cristiano Ronaldo appears to ask fans to purchase a token called USWR. The video is not real. Prepared based on a real interview given by the Portugal captain at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The fake endorsement came while Ronaldo was receiving all the attention in the tournament. It spread more after Portugal lost to Spain in the round of 16 and was eliminated. “I’m not the kind of guy who gives out great investment advice, but if you invest every dollar you have in USWR, you’ll be very happy at the end of July,” the fake Ronaldo says in the fake video. He didn’t say that.
AFP says the token is based on an ownership claim in a “United States Water Reserve.” The short fake video of Ronaldo sends fans to a website called uswr(.)ai.
An Instagram post from July 4 attempted to sell the video as a scoop. I wondered if anyone else had heard Ronaldo talk about the deal after the win. Many people shared versions on Facebook, TikTok, Threads and YouTube.
Where did the real footage come from?
The clip came from Spanish news site Diario AS, which showed Ronaldo in the mixed zone after the 2-1 win over Croatia on July 3. It had nothing to do with money in real exchange. Ronaldo He spoke English instead of Portuguese and praised Luka Modric, the Croatia captain and former Real Madrid teammate. He described Modric as a “football legend” and wished him success.
The scammers kept the video and added fake audio to it. Agence France-Presse said that in both versions, Ronaldo’s face and the people around him are exactly the same. The token fragment was run through the Hiya(.)com audio clone detector in the InVID Verification plugin. The speech that returned was “likely delivered by an artificial intelligence.”
The word “water reserve” was probably chosen intentionally. It’s a play on Ronaldo’s real stake in Maravilha Décimal, an upscale bottled water brand. Fans who remember some of his business deals will find the show more believable. The news source also said that he is one of the most copied athletes online. Anything fake with his face on it goes viral.
Footballers continue to face crypto issues
the USWR clip It is a fake endorsement, and not a project that Ronaldo has touched at all. But footballers have been caught up in real-life crypto disputes as well. As cryptopolitan I mentioned In May, a Barcelona court investigated six former Sevilla players over the Xitom project. The group includes Ivan Rakitic and Papu Gomez. Spanish investors say losses could reach 24 million euros.
Experts keep pointing to the same defense. Fans should check an athlete’s verified channels before believing any encrypted offer. They should treat “invest every dollar” promises and promises of an end-of-month bonus as reasons to quit.
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