Ronaldo Once Liked Post Claiming Messi Doesn't Deserve Over 5 Ballon d'Ors

• Cristiano Ronaldo once reacted under a social media post criticising Lionel Messi following his eighth Ballon d'Or win
• Spanish journalist Tomas Roncero hit out at the decision to award the Ballon d'Or to Messi in an Instagram post
• Ronaldo liked Roncero's post and responded with four laughing emojis, indicating his disagreement with Messi's latest accolade

The rivalry between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi has been a cornerstone of football discussions for the past two decades.

These two football icons were the best players on the planet for a decade when they played in Spain for Real Madrid and Barcelona. Messi or Ronaldo won the Ballon d'Or award from 2008 to 2017.

While the two legends have often shown mutual respect, there have been moments of palpable tension.

In October 2023, Ronaldo stirred controversy by liking and commenting on an Instagram post that argued Messi did not deserve more than five Ballon d'Or awards.

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Ronaldo 'likes' criticism of Messi

This post emerged shortly after Messi secured his record-extending eighth Ballon d'Or following his 2022 FIFA World Cup victory with Argentina.

The post's caption read: "Hello friends. As expected, they gave Messi another Ballon d'Or. He went to retire in Miami, having already looked retired at PSG while prepping for the World Cup. Yes, he won the World Cup, but with 6 penalties... The World Cup was 10 months ago. It's November. Messi now has 8 Ballon d'Ors, but he should have 5. He has Iniesta/Xavi's Ballon d'Or, Lewandowski's for his six-trophy season, and Haaland's for being the top scorer."

According to One Football via Sportskeeda, these words were from Tomas Roncero, the editor-in-chief of the Spanish newspaper AS.

Screenshots of Ronaldo's comment, featuring four laughing emojis, circulated widely on social media, suggesting he agreed and found the post amusing.

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This incident is not the first time Ronaldo has expressed his views on Messi's Ballon d'Or victories.

After Messi won his seventh Ballon d'Or in 2021 for leading Argentina to the Copa America title, Ronaldo agreed with an Instagram post questioning Messi's deservedness due to perceived poor performance.

Ronaldo's comment, "Factos," clearly aligned with the post's sentiment, causing a stir on social media, per Goal.

Source: AFP