After claiming that the rivalry between Lionel Messi and himself was over, Cristiano Ronaldo finds himself amidst controversy once again. The Portuguese forward recently commented and liked a post by Spanish journalist Tomas Roncero, who posted a video criticising Lionel Messi after the Argentine was awarded the 2023 Ballon d’Or – his eighth and the most ever received by one player.

Although Messi’s loyal fans are pleased at the decision following the forward’s 2022 World Cup winner, not everybody shares the same opinion. Some believe Erling Haaland deserved it much more than the Argentine, after he won the treble with Manchester City and broke the Premier League goalscoring record in his very first season, aged 22.

Cristiano Ronaldo stirs up more controversy with emoji comment

The Al Nassr forward liked Roncero’s post and only commented four laughing emojis underneath. It doesn’t confirm whether he agrees with the position of the Spaniard, or thinks that it’s ridiculous. But the speculation alone suggests that Ronaldo isn’t quite over the ‘rivalry’ just yet.

Roncero asserted that Messi ‘stole’ Iniesta and Xavi’s, Lewandowski’s and now, Erling Haaland’s Ballon d’Or awards even though he wasn’t the best player in the respective years.

Cristiano Ronaldo admitted in an interview with Piers Morgan in 2019 that he would need up to eight Ballon d’Or awards to surpass Messi. And now that the Argentine has his eighth, he has at least been proven right in that regard, even though his standpoint behind the comment hasn’t been revealed.