Cristiano Ronaldo couldn’t hide his true feelings after Lionel Messi picked up his eighth Ballon d’Or as he reacted to rival Saudi fans singing the Argentine’s name.
Cristiano Ronaldo seemingly hasn’t won over the whole of Saudi Arabia, after he hit out at rival fans singing Lionel Messi’s name.
Ronaldo was not nominated for the Ballon d’Or this year for the first time since 2003, as footballing rival Messi picked up the award for an incredible eighth time at the event in Paris on Monday night. The Argentine won the award after lifting the World Cup at the end of last year in Qatar and seemingly impressing enough in the MLS at Inter Miami.
While Ronaldo’s performances in the Saudi Pro League – where he’s scored 28 goals and notched ten assists in 33 games since arriving from Manchester United – weren’t enough to see him even nominated for the award he’s won five times.
It seems that the decision has grated on the 38-year-old as he hit out at Al-Ettifaq fans who sang Messi’s name to the Al-Nassr star in the King Cup of Champions round of 16 game on Tuesday. A video captured Ronaldo’s reaction as he first smiled at a team-mate while handing him the ball to take a throw in.
But CR7 then seemed to lose his head with the fans, as he first put his finger to his lips to tell them to be quiet, before pointing to his ear and waving his arm at the crowd to seemingly tell them to calm down.
Cristiano Ronaldo told Al-Ettifaq fans to shut up (Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)
Ronaldo didn’t take too kindly to the Messi love from the Ettifaq fans
Fans on Twitter weren’t too amused with Ronaldo’s reaction either, with one fan poking fun at Messi getting one over Ronaldo in Qatar last year, saying: “Wow he was really p***ed about Messi’s Ballon D’or I think it hurt more than the WC”. A second added: “Messi look what you have done to this man”. While a third commented: “A child in a grown man’s body. What an insecure lad”.
However, Ronaldo did have the last laugh on the night as an extra time winner from former Liverpool star Sadio Mane was the difference between the two sides. It also brought Al-Nassr their 15th consecutive unbeaten result.
