Singaporean photographer gets credit after Ronaldo updates Instagram post on World Cup photos

[UPDATE]

Cristiano Ronaldo has since updated his Instagram post to credit Singaporean photographer Edmund Wong for the World Cup photos.

A Singaporean photographer got off a flight and was greeted with "disbelief" after he was informed that Cristiano Ronaldo had reposted his pictures on Instagram.

Freelance sports photographer Edmund Wong was in Houston to shoot the Portugal vs Uzbekistan match at the 2026 World Cup, when he managed to snap a couple of candid shots of the Portuguese superstar on the field.

Much to Wong's "disbelief", the photos were later shared by Ronaldo, 41, to his 668 million Instagram followers, but without crediting Wong.

The match, which saw Portugal win 4-0, also featured the football star's first two goals of the tournament.

An emotional moment ensued on the field where Ronaldo's teammates hugged him after his first goal — that was immortalised by Wong in one of his photos, which he managed to capture with a bird's-eye view.

This photo was reposted by Ronaldo on his account, which has since garnered eight million likes.

However, Wong, a Fifa-accredited photographer, was not credited or tagged anywhere in the caption.

While he was "absolutely honoured" to have been featured on the football star's Instagram page, he also took to his account to talk about how he was not credited or paid for the usage of his photo.

"Credit has to be given when the credit is due," Wong said in an Instagram story.

"As much as I am a big fan of Cristiano Ronaldo and football in general, I do believe that work is work and if you do your work, you are meant to be paid for your work in one way or another."

Wong added that even if there was no payment involved, he would have liked for some credit as well.

Wong posted another Instagram reel on Thursday (June 25), detailing the moment he captured the photo at the stadium, adding that he "(took) this photo without thinking Cristiano Ronaldo would actually use it" in the caption.

He then tagged the Portuguese captain in a pinned comment, asking him to discuss payment and usage terms.

"Regardless of the situation, I am eternally grateful that Cristiano used my photos, because that (means) he liked it enough to share them," he said. 

"But I am simply doing what any media professional would do!"

According to sports journalism site Baseline, Wong is self-funding his trip to cover the tournament, spending over $15,000 on just flights and accommodation alone.

The website also explained that Colombian midfielder Luis Diaz's agent had reached out to Wong for permission when his photo was reposted on the footballer's Instagram page.

AsiaOne has reached out to Wong for more information.

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