A hurt Ronaldo? While Messi spoke publicly about him with respect, the Portuguese “shone” after the Ballon d’Or on social media

Two excellent players, yet completely different. Both in game and character. Both will always be among the best in history. In terms of the number of Ballons d’Or, however, Lionel Messi is the clear leader. He spoke of his rival with respect and humility. Cristiano Ronaldo, however, did not exactly accept the Argentine’s award with grace.

Lionel Messi won his eighth Ballon d’Or on Monday night. It was 30 October. Diego Maradona would have celebrated his birthday, and the star Argentine presented him with his individual trophy, confirming that he is the best footballer in history.

After the ceremony, the Inter Miami player faced questions from journalists. He answered, for example, whether he felt he was the best footballer in history. He more or less denies it himself. He only modestly noted that it was a great honour for him to be included in discussions about the best at all.

Besides, a question was asked about his long-time rival. Cristiano Ronaldo has only five Ballon d’Ors. “It was an epic rivalry. Cristiano was a great player. I think we benefited from each other. We are both very competitive. He always wants to win everything too. It was a beautiful period. Not only for us, but also for those who love football,” the Argentine was quoted by the British Mirror.

“What we have done is really commendable. As they say, it’s easy to reach the top but hard to stay there. We have stayed on it for ten or fifteen years. I don’t know exactly how many. It was very difficult. It was difficult to stay at that level. It was a great thing,” Messi added.

Messi and the Ballon d’Or? Ronaldo seems to see it differently

Cristiano Ronaldo didn’t show so much humility compared to his rival. He never spared too much self-praise. Not that it wasn’t justified. He has achieved admirable success. However, his self-confidence showed when he was on the polygraph and answering tough questions.

The Portuguese star wanted at least seven Ballons d’Or. He dreamed of having more than anyone else. But it is Lionel Messi who is living his dream, and it cannot be said that Cristiano is carrying it the best.

In fact, once Messi won his eighth Ballon d’Or, there were many different reactions. Some were critical. For example, from journalist Tomás Roncer, who said Erling Haaland should have won.

In total, according to Roncer, Messi should only have five Ballon d’Or, having deprived Roberto Lewandowski, Xavi or Andrés Iniesta of the trophy. Otherwise, the Spanish journalist was quite critical of the Argentine’s performance at PSG. Outside of the World Cup, he was said to be barely mentioned. Moreover, the Ballon d’Or, according to him, is not a trophy that is awarded for one tournament.

It was Ronaldo who made this post on AStv’ s Instagram account, adding a comment that can be interpreted in different ways. In fact, he added several mocking emoticons.

This was understandably met with a great response. According to many fans, this is a brutal end to a great rivalry. The reason? They say Ronaldo can’t control his ego. But many of them are on the Portuguese side. Either way, Ronaldo’s reaction is being discussed on social media in a big way.

However, given Messi’s comments about Ronaldo, the Portuguese’s behaviour seems really inappropriate.

Source: Instagram, ESPN FC