Cristiano Ronaldo leaves Al-Hilal fans red-faced for calling him washed and hailing Lionel Messi before Arab Club Champions Cup final heroics
A video of Al-Hilal fans mocking Cristiano Ronaldo and hurling Lionel Messi chants at him has emerged online. The incident took place before the Arab Cup of Champions final between Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal.
Before the much-anticipated Riyadh derby, Al-Hilal fans ruthlessly mocked Ronaldo, as in a recently surfaced Twitter video, one fan could be spotted saying:
"That was years back, not now. He is an old guy now."
When Michael gave Al-Hilal the lead and performed Ronaldo's siiiuuu celebration, one fan said:
"Here's Michael who did the Siiii right."
Fans were also spotted constantly chanting Lionel Messi's name from the stands.
Cristiano Ronaldo, however, left them red-faced as the Portugal captain scored a brace to turn the tie on its head and help Al-Nassr win 2-1.
The triumph marked Ronaldo's first trophy as an Al-Nassr player. He also finished the competition as the top scorer, scoring six times in six matches.
Cristiano Ronaldo once spoke highly of Lionel Messi
During his now-infamous interview with British broadcaster Piers Morgan last year, Cristiano Ronaldo was asked about his opinion on his arch-on-field rival, Lionel Messi.
Ronaldo had nothing but good things to say as he lauded Messi's abilities as a player. The Portugal captain further added that even his partner has a respectful relationship with Messi's wife.
Ronaldo said (via SPORTBible):
“Amazing player, he is magic. As a person, we share the stage 16 years, imagine, 16 years. we share. So, I have a great relationship with him. I'm not a friend of his in terms of, what I mean friend is the guy who was with you in your house, speaking on the phone, no, but it's like a teammate."
He added:
“He’s a guy that I really respect the way he always speaks about me. Even his wife or my wife, my girlfriend, they always respect, and they're from Argentina. My girlfriend is from Argentina. So good. What I am going to say about Messi? A great guy who does great things for football.”
Ronaldo and Messi have given fans many memorable moments throughout their careers.
While they have been involved in many on-field battles throughout the years, the pair have always shared a tremendous amount of mutual respect.
Ronaldo's comments on Messi during his Piers Morgan interview proved how much the Portuguese respects his rival.