Ronaldo picked up his fourth goal of the World Cup on Wednesday for Portugal en route to a 1-0 win over Morocco, but fans couldn't help but notice that he looked a bit... different doing it. Ronaldo grew a goatee -- or a GOATee, if you're into that kind of thing -- and it looks like it's here to stay.

Ronaldo explained the goatee's origins after the match, and why he's keeping it.

"The new beard? This right here?" Ronaldo asked when he was asked about the goatee, which is not a beard and you can't convince me otherwise. "It was a joke I made with [Ricardo] Quaresma. We were in the sauna and I started to shave. I left my beard and I said if I score tomorrow -- which was against Spain (last Friday) -- I would leave it for the rest of the tournament. And it gave me luck, I scored in that game. I scored today and I'm going to keep it."

Hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Ronaldo didn't just score against Spain. He put up three goals and carried Portugal to a 3-3 draw. His goal against Morocco was the only one in a 1-0 Portugal win. Without Ronaldo, Portugal likely has a draw and a loss, and is on the cusp of not making it out of the group stage. But that's the Portugal M.O. It goes as far as Ronaldo goes.

With that being said, Ronaldo's explanation isn't holding water for some fans, with folks suggesting that he has pettier reasons for growing a goatee that involve a certain other superstar -- an Argentinian that posed with a goat.

Lionel Messi vs. Cristiano Ronaldo is a debate that will rage on until soccer ceases to exist, but some fans suggested that the goatee is a subliminal shot at the implication of Messi's photoshoot, with others saying that it was just plain bad-looking.

Love him or hate him, it's impossible to deny that Ronaldo is tearing it up so far at this World Cup. He's leading the race for the Golden Boot with four goals. Messi will try to notch his first goal against Croatia on Thursday, after Argentina tied with Iceland 1-1 last Saturday.