Messi was crowned the best footballer in the world for the eighth time on Monday night, capping off an unforgettable year for the Argentine forward. Messi’s World Cup win in Qatar last December was the crowning achievement of his career, and was the basis behind his record-breaking Ballon d’Or win.

The win means Messi has two more Ballon d’Or trophies than his rival Ronaldo, with whom his career has been intertwined for over a decade. For years fans have debated who is the best player of their generation – and in fact in the history of the game – with many pointing towards the Ballon d’Or tally as evidence the debate is over.

But Ronaldo’s sister, Katia Aveiro, believes Messi has been ‘given’ his Ballon d’Or awards, and isn’t truly deserving of them. In the aftermath of Monday’s ceremony, a Ronaldo fan page on Instagram posted an image of the forward, now at Al-Nassr, with his five golden ball trophies.

The caption of the post read: “Deserved, not given.” – this being a clear swipe at Messi. Aveiro liked the post and commented with a series of clapping emojis, confirming she agrees with the sentiment.

It wasn’t just Ronaldo’s sister who seemed unhappy with the results, as Ronaldo himself used Instagram to suggest he wasn’t impressed with Messi’s latest achievement. After Spanish newspaper AS posted a video on its social media page in which a pundit argued Messi should only have five Ballon d’Ors, and was lucky to win the other three when they deserved to go elsewhere.

Journalist Tomas Roncero claimed in the video: “Hello friends. What we knew happened, they were going to give Messi another Ballon d’Or again.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi’s careers have been intertwined due to their dominance of the sport ( Image: UEFA via Getty Images)

“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.”

Ronaldo couldn’t hide his delight at seeing this claim, and gave the post a like before commenting a series of laughing faces from his verified account.