When Cristiano Ronaldo liked and commented on Instagram post that said Lionel Messi did not deserve more than 5 Ballon d'Or awards
The rivalry between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi over the last two decades has been one of the most-discussed ones in football. Although the two icons have been respectful to each other in the past, at certain moments, the rivalry turned quite bitter.
In October 2023, Cristiano Ronaldo liked and commented on an Instagram post that claimed Lionel Messi did not deserve to win more than five Ballons d'Or. The post came shortly after Messi won his record-extending eighth Ballon d'Or in 2023 after winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup with Argentina.
"Hello friends. What we knew happened, they were going to give Messi another Ballon d'Or again. He went to retire in Miami, even though he already looked like he was retired at PSG preparing for the World Cup. He won the World Cup, yes, good, but with 6 penalties... The World Cup was 10 months ago, it's November. Messi has 8 Ballon d'Ors, he should have had 5. He has Iniesta/Xavi's Ballon d'Or, Lewandowski's who won 6 trophies in one season and Haaland's who was the top scorer," the Instagram post's caption read.
As per One Football, the words in the post came from Tomas Roncero, the editor-in-chief of Spanish paper, AS. Multiple social media accounts took a screenshot of Ronaldo's comment on the post with four laughing emojis, allegedly indicating that he agreed with the post and found it amusing.
This is not the first time Ronaldo has made his feelings clear about Lionel Messi's Ballon d'Or awards. After Messi won his seventh Ballon d'Or in 2021 for guiding Argentina to the Copa America title, Ronaldo took to Instagram to agree with a post questioning whether he should have got it owing to his supposed poor performance.
Cristiano Ronaldo's comment read "Factos", clearly in agreement with the views of the post, creating havoc on social media.
When Lionel Messi commented on whether his rivalry with Cristiano Ronaldo is over
After Lionel Messi received his eighth Ballon d'Or in October 2023, he spoke about his rivalry with Cristiano Ronaldo in response to a journalist's question during a press conference. The Argentine was asked if his rivalry with the Al-Nassr star was over as he had three more Ballons d'Or than Cristiano Ronaldo. Messi answered (via OneFootball):
“It was an epic competition between brackets. Athletically, he was very good and I think we benefited from each other because we are both very competitive and he also always wants to win over everyone and everything. I think it was a very beautiful period for us and for those who love football in general."
Lionel Messi also added that while it might be easy to reach the top, staying there for 10 or 15 years is extremely difficult. He acknowledged that what he and Cristiano Ronaldo achieved together in football will be a beautiful memory for fans of the sport.
"What we have done all this time is very appreciable because as they say it is easy to reach the top but difficult to stay. We stayed at the top for ten or fifteen years, I'm not sure how many, and it was very difficult. It was very difficult to continue at this level and I think it was a great thing and a beautiful memory for everyone who enjoys football,” Lionel Messi added.