Cristiano Ronaldo has responded to Lionel Messi’s record-breaking eighth Ballon d’Or win in typical fashion.
Messi’s 8th Ballon D’or Win
Having at long last won the World Cup at the end of 2022, Lionel Messi effectively completed football. This coupled with his fine start to life at Inter Miami, the Ballon d’Or trophy was the Argentinian’s to lose.
However, he did face stiff competition from both Erling Haaland, who won the Champions League and scored 52 goals for Manchester City last season and Kylian Mbappe, who almost stood in Messi’s way of the World Cup having scored a hat-trick in the final against Argentina.
But, at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris last night, football’s worst-kept secret was finally confirmed and Messi went back to Miami with an unprecedented eighth Ballon d’Or.
The difference between Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
You can’t always buy class… pic.twitter.com/SV5tGFk9S1
— george (@StokeyyG2) October 31, 2023
How Did Cristiano Ronaldo Respond to Lionel Messi’s Ballon d’Or Win?
One man who did not even feature in the Ballon d’Or top 30 was Messi’s long-time rival, Cristiano Ronaldo. And I think it’s fair to say he may have been slightly bitter about the situation. Here’s what happened.
AS journalist and Real Madrid fan, Tomás Roncero was clearly gutted about the Argentinian’s latest victory and posted on Instagram to express his views. In the video, Roncero said: “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 six penalties… The World Cup was ten months ago, it’s November.
“Messi has eight Ballon d’Ors, he should have had five. He has Iniesta/Xavi’s Ballon d’Or, Lewandowski’s who won six trophies in one season and Haaland’s who was the top scorer.”
In response to the video, Ronaldo, who holds five Ballon d’Or’s, commented with four laughing emojis. However, it is not completely clear what the former Real Madrid man meant by the comment.
Despite being missed off the 30-man shortlist, Ronaldo has been in scintillating form since joining Al-Nassr at the beginning of the year, scoring 34 goals in 39 matches for the Saudi team and leading them to their first Arab Club Champions Cup after a brace in the final.
Do you think Messi deserved to win the Ballon d’Or?
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