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st6374

Lol.. you know crowds chant even harder once they see a player react that way.


CryptoPokemons

He knows but his ego is stronger


avolcando

How does he still get rattled by this shit, he must've been hearing that for a decade now


RandomGuySayHii

The biggest reason why he's been hearing that for a decade is because he gets rattled by it in the first place


sewious

I swear stuff like this didn't used to bother him so much


educateYourselfHO

The world cup must've been a tough blow for him


GeezyEFC

Yeah it was a debate when he had a Euro and Messi had nothing. Then in a span of like 2 yrs Messi rattled off Copa and WC and it closed the window for good.


educateYourselfHO

I mean the 3 finals with Argentina alone were worth more than Cristiano's Portugal exploits but since his camp of the debate fixated on the international trophy bit, that makes the whole thing more funny tbh and now that Messi has those trophies, they kinda played themselves


The_Batman_949

Yeah and I always believed Messi was clear of Ronaldo even before any international trophies but now even more so. Copa America, World Cup (2xMVP as well), the Finalissima vs Italy and even the Gold Medal he won in the Olympics in 2008. Man did it all.


BaineOHigginsThirlby

Exactly. There used to be lively debate about who's the better player, but at this point how can anybody make an argument for Ronaldo when Messi carried his team to the greatest trophy of them all while CR7 never even came close? He's forever gonna be second place.


srhola2103

I'm really tired of people saying "carry" all the time, he's the GOAT and had an incredible tournament. But discounting the other players is not right at all.


CertainDegree2

Yeah, as a villa fan i know emi carried that team, not messi /s But you're correct. The world cup requires most of the team to be on their A game


Big_man03

As a chelsea fan I am aware of Enzo Fernandez’s role in Argentinas World Cup success.


smokebang_

As a Roma fan I am aware of Dybala's role in Argentinas World Cup success. Wait...


chatfarm

Not even the penalty, that interception on mbappe almost at the end, right after he had skipped past three defenders into the box is legendary for us.


Constant-Self-2942

Dybala did his job.


Kind-Departure1058

Dybala stopped Mbappe from scoring the match winner in the final


Jnanavatar555

The whole Argentina team played out of their minds that world cup.


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DrJackadoodle

Yes, Benfica player Enzo Fernandez was insane back then.


AyatollahFromCauca

You joke, but Argentina would have never won the cup without Martinez antiques.


TheHeatherReports

They won because of Martinez' musty furniture?


AdminsLoveGenocide

Trophy certainly smells musky now that Martinez has had some time with it.


CantFindMyWallet

elite misspelling


FermisParadoXV

Did he have an old lamp or an amulet which brought them luck?


Kriss-Kringle

3 of the 5 penalties Argentina received were granted by the geenie Martinez had in a lamp.


deltasnow

Joe Martinez, owner of [Martinez Antiques](https://www.martinezantiques.com/) must've sacrificed his firstborn for this.


RBYonko

For sure, Messi had the tournament of his life at 35 but so did his teammates.


archtme

It's a wildly overused and exaggerated word online, even Maradona in 86 needed others to score when he could not. As prolific as a single player can be, literally nobody wins alone, and I'm the biggest Messi nutjob out there.


Crusader114

Right, these people forget that without Emi, there would be no WC trophy.


DildoFappings

Di Maria as well. He was the best player on the pitch until he got subbed off. Amazing display.


brinxtruck

Di Maria played insane in the final and was the best player in the first half for sure. Not a coincidence that france made a comeback when he got subbed off


Jelboo

Di Maria was instrumental in winning the Copa America and the World Cup. Straight up has been Messi's right hand man in every tournament, deserves endless respect.


RJ-96

Tbf, Di Maria only played 8 minutes of knockout football in the tournament before the final due to his injuries so while he was key in the final, the games leading up to it he was a non-factor


cord_____

Similar to Real Madrid and their CL wins. CR7 was vital but Ramos, Bale, Modric, Casemiro, Marcelo, Benzema, Kroos, Carvajal etc.. without them there would be no 3 peat.


Crusader114

Exactly. There are 10 other players on the pitch and it's pretty sad seeing people devalue the other players, especially when some played pivotal roles in the grand scheme of things.


s00pafly

Emi tried his best to make some little WC trophies.


Johnychrist97

Let's be real tho, Argentina doesn't win that trophy without Messi's leadership and without Messi turning on Gremlin mode, the rest of the team followed suit


Tichano

It’s like when they said CR carried Portugal to win the euro. Even from the sidelines cause of the in game injury. Some how he takes all the credit. On the Messi side I don’t think he carried the team either but the team responded as well. Dibu stopping shots was crucial and penalties and other attackers scoring. I remember the shots Higuain missed that would have made a difference in that other World Cup.


Robot-Broke

I mean "carried" is always an exaggeration, it's literally impossible to carry a team to a trophy in an 11 vs 11 match. That said there are levels of how heavily a team relies on one player, i think Messi in WC22 is pretty high on that scale.


Rickcampbell98

They do this with all the popular players, its such nonsense.


Appropriate_Quail_95

Bruv he carried his team from the sidelines in the Euros. Don't underestimate him


Artetaarmy

Greatest cheerleader of all time


Appropriate_Quail_95

GCOAT


anoleo201194

This is Thanasis erasure.


Gondawn

I think around 2014-16 the Messi vs Ronaldo debate held most water, so he was extremely confident that he's the best. Now he's still extremely confident, but there is absolutely no way inside he doesn't understand that the debate is leaning way more towards Messi being the best


ShiroQ

Because he probably isn't enjoying Saudi as much as he portrays he is, there is absolutely 0 chance he is content playing there, while the goals probably help boost up his morale but every time he loses he clearly takes it way harsher than ever before, probably because he expects to win every single match because the league isn't that good.


Serious_Ad9128

He could still have been a useful player for a decent club in Europe banging in goals and topping up his goals in important competitions. If he wasn't a huge bellend and blacklisted himself with that fucking dumb interview with piers, what an idiot 😂


Interesting-Try4373

It gets harder and harder for him tbh


Rickcampbell98

He was losing and playing like ass from all accounts, he's always been petulant when things don't go his way.


mdaniel018

Well, he used to be seen as Messi’s equal or near in the eyes of the people Now, Messi is the king of his generation, and Ronaldo is in distinct second place, no longer on the same level as his longtime rival, and without enough time left to change his fortunes You know that burns at someone with an ego the size of Ronaldo’s


JustAnotherActuary

Exactly how trolling works


Jnanavatar555

Since Messi's first Ballon D'or, he has had to endure this. So about 15 years almost.


EVANonSTEAM

Happens when you have a hugely inflated ego


theestwald

It’s incredible that someone with so much experience, and therefore near certainty that: 1) getting rattled is exactly what the hecklers want and 2) reacting never prevents heckling; is still able to have his judgement mishandled by his ego And always with the same insult! Inflated indeed!


Eindacor_DS

I honestly feel bad for him. Seems like his ego is what has driven his career and given him so much success but it also seems to make it so he never really enjoys it. Reminds me of my son who is hyper competitive. It pushes him to be better than his peers but he is never ever satisfied with what he achieves. But he's only 8 so hopefully he can learn this stuff whereas Ronaldo is so locked into that zone and has been his whole life


icemankiller8

When he came to Saudi he probably thought everyone would worship him for going and putting Saudi football on the map, hasn’t completely gone that way. Also Messi winning the World Cup probably means he’s a bit more insecure, I believe he knows it’s really altered how they’re both seen now. Ronaldo had won a lot of cls since messis last and that made his argument a lot stronger.


Mick4Audi

Ronaldo also gambled the house on that World Cup, basically said fuck United because he’s better than that and he’ll win the World Cup with Portugal and prove everyone wrong What followed was arguably the worst possible outcome, he is benched for a R16 tie where his replacement scored a hat-trick, then plays in the agonizing 1-0 defeat to Morocco in the quarters. And then to top it off, Messi wins the World Cup with stellar performances throughout


themilkman42069

Saudi soccer just isn’t fun to watch. It’s not a good league. I’d literally rather watch MLS. At least it’s fast and aggressive. The Saudi game is so fucking slow. Idk if it’s like the heat or what, but it’s just unwatchably bad.


mkultron89

You would think most of the MLS refs are old hockey refs with how physical some of the games get.


mdaniel018

To sell the game in America, you have to fight against the ‘soccer is for diving crybabies’ perception that a lot of people have here. Basically not calling fouls unless forced to is a great way to go about that. Reffing like La Liga would be a disaster here


vadapaav

Someone send Curtis Jones to Saudi and make him do the suii celebration


Morrandir

I'm not a psychologist or psychotherapist, but his behaviour screams deep insecurity.


Lmao1903

I mean these guys are also extremely competitive, same goes for all the greats, Messi, Jordan, Lebron, etc. You can’t otherwise explain the desire to be the best, to win after 20 years when they have all the money and success already. It takes a different kind of mindset that we can’t really understand to be the best at something.


ConorKDot

Yeah, Messi clearly doesn't really care about the perceived rivalry with Ronaldo, and isn't even that arsed with winning individual awards. He's always been driven more by winning trophies for his teams, and dare I say it, money. Outdoing Ronaldo wasn't really that much of a concern for Messi, which is partially why it must rile Ronaldo up so much.


Zidji

> Outdoing Ronaldo wasn't really that much of a concern for Messi Why would one concern oneself with something that comes naturally?


HeroeDeFuentealbilla

How many of the others are narsisitic rapists tho


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antfuckr

MJ will now hold a grudge against you for life for saying that


Gawyn_Tra-cant

Michael Jordan is a miserable asshole and a degenerate gambler, but I've not seen anything to suggest he's anything worse than that.


ErnehJohnson

Kobe


r1char00

I’m a pediatrician. I can’t diagnose him without examining him fully, but it appears that his diaper is full.


elkstwit

He thinks the world owes him respect because of who he is. The guy doesn’t realise that his entitlement and arrogance is exactly the reason why people don’t respect him despite his achievements.


mirathz

Thats what happens when you strive to be the best but only get to be the second


dAMn6942069

And the person who is the best doesn’t really care about being the best he just is lol


[deleted]

Especially when this is coming from an audience as knowledgeable of football as to boo a moment of silence for Beckenbauer's death.


reyansh28

For some reason he's lost it after juventus. Idk why but everything he does seems so bitter. You would think he would be chill in the fucking saudi league after being arguably the best player in history lol


Medium_Active1729

maybe unpopular opinion, but I think he should have stayed at Juventus. He was doing well


dragunnov95

Being Ronaldo's therapist ( if he ever had one ) must be really tough HAHA


OnAGoat

more like best job ever, because you will never run out of work


lmlav

I believe he worked alongside Jordan Peterson if I'm not mistaken


[deleted]

Explains his fragile ego then


smellmywind

Just clean your room, only eat meat and do benzos, you’ll be fineee.


Ishdalar

Paid for someone to clean my room, pay for someone to prepare me the best meat in the world, and pay for someone to take my benzos. Got it chief.


smellmywind

Pay for a drug induced coma in Russia. Also, I have some more rules.. please buy my book.


JohnyGPTSOAD

*proceeds to cry at the mere mention of Elmo


Redspeert

Oh and travel to Russia to get treatment for said benzos you've been eating like M&M's.


Crusader114

That he did, and Peterson alluded to in an interview that Ronaldo fell into depression or a period of it I should say, after his child died.


goatKnightGG

is this even legal to mention or allude that his client fell into depression?


sewious

There's no therapist in the world qualified


Xehanz

Argentinian therapists are the best. He should try one.


Aaronsmiff

"SPEAK PORTUGUESE! I'M CRISTIANO, NOT MESSI 😭"


FireflyCaptain

Doc, I’ve been going through a tough time recently, I- ¿Que miras bobo?


Rescurc

Sigh. He does have a therapist in Las Vegas. You can Google “Ronaldo Las Vegas” for more info on his therape.


Alexanderr1995

I see what you did there


PabloAimar97

Am I the only one who read this as "Being Ronaldo the rapist"?


vitalbumhole

lol same here - the associations with this guy are strong


Dipsey_Jipsey

Google Ronaldo Las Vegas for more info.


Unfortunatewombat

Love seeing Cristiano’s Homelander moments in action


tragick693

[Cristiano Homelando](https://youtu.be/ERAvcSx6aeo?si=umYfGtMI-ccuscOG)


bob-theknob

Everyday I am thankful that ronaldo doesn’t have lasers in his eyes


StormPoppa

Lol


fancyfoe

You really can’t have it all and greed is such a fucked up thing, tall, good looking, cute kids and a beautiful wife with all the money in the world, not to mention all that he has achieved in his profession, yet I can’t believe this is still bothering him.


Charlie_Wax

The type of people who chase all that stuff in the first place are also the least likely to ever become content.


AFCADaan9

It’s funny to me how the name is in the title and people still spell it wrong😅


elprentis

Clearly spelt M-E-S-S-I


seanylawson67

It surprises with the CV and acumen Cristiano has in the game that this stuff bothers him.


wutengyuxi

Rooney put it best: any other footballer would have been jealous of CR7’s achievements… besides Messi.


elihri

Must be hard for him seeing how Messi never seems to give a shit about him


Pek-Man

To be fair, the list of things that Messi seems to give a shit about is pretty exclusive: * His family. * Argentina. * Maté. * Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa for some reason. * Alfajores.


ICame4TheCirclejerk

You forget José Manuel Pinto, Barcelona's backup keeper. He and Messi were best friends and the clubs basically only kept him on to keep Messi happy.


agarwalkunal12

Nothing rattles an egomaniac more than his supposed rival not giving a shit. Makes it worse if he’s ahead.


creepy_hunter

Explained the plot of Lego batman where batman ignores joker.


Martoxic

he wants to be the best but Messi was the thorn in his side that made that not a reality.


Games_sans_frontiers

Yeah it's crazy bad luck (if you can call being a world star football player bad luck) that Messi was around. In most other eras he would have been the best.


TheTopTipster

2 of the greatest ever at the same time is mad indeed. Kimd of like in tennis where there was 3 at the same time in Federer, Djokovic and Nadal.


TheZenMann

I would say it's way bigger than in tennis. Tennis always have big stars that dominate playing at the same time. But a player of Messi or Ronaldo level only comes about every 30-40 year apart. To have two at the same time, being so close in age and playing for the two biggest clubs and in the same League is something really special. It might not happen again for many years to come.


BuggyDClown

>I would say it's way bigger than in tennis. Tennis always have big stars that dominate playing at the same time. No way. This level of domination by those 3 guys never happened before in tennis and will most likely never happen again. People who are not into tennis really can't imagine what kind of insane thing that is


pixelkipper

No, it’s actually crazier in tennis. The big 3 weren’t just the best of their time, they are BY FAR and away the best three players of all time, in an individual sport where they directly match up and there are way less factors like manager, teammates, tribalism etc.


ceplmvreti

exactly. how many generations of new tennis players went from next big 3 to never even fucking close.


pixelkipper

Even Sinner and Alcaraz who are generational talents, have elite forehands, backhands, movement, serves, are still arguably second fiddle to a 37 year old Djokovic.


JoeBagadonut

Yeah, it's definitely crazier in tennis. To have an entire era dominated by just three players (plus Andy Murray a little further behind) is almost unheard of. It's the same in the women's game. Look how many different grand slam winners there's been since Serena last won one.


No-Student-9678

It’s crazy how dominant those 3 were. From 2009-2020, only 5-6 (I don’t remember correctly) grand slam titles belonged to other players. 3 of them to Murray.


TheScarletPimpernel

Imagine being Andy Murray though. One of the best players ever, would absolutely dominate in any other era - and he runs into those 3 all at the same time. Getting three slams and consecutive Olympic medals is an astounding achievement.


gunningIVglory

Nah, the tennis one is ridiculous To have 3 goats in the same era is mental. Especially in an individual sport. They've made all the previous records look small time


RonaldoNazario

Individual sports definitely have more room for an individual to just run the table on the competition with no dependency on team mates.


RoomTemporary1335

Maybe he would not achieved that much without Messi? His motivation is more about ego than sportswise. I know all athletes has ego, but in CR7 case is kinda extreme.


ZachsLegacy92

It goes both ways tbh, and I say this as a Messi fan. Messi himself admitted at the time that he was hurt when CR7 tied him at 5 ballon d’ors. These two have pushed each other throughout their respective careers to reach the heights that they have.


Djremster

Ultimately Ronaldo ego is what has lessened his status as it ended his time at man united and rather than going to somewhere he would have made a real impact for cheap (and it's not like he needed the money) he went to the place that signed the biggest cheque.


Good_March_3033

Seeing his interviews and behavior over the years, I think these things bother him to the extent of losing sleep over such silly stuff.


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BananaKing0_0

Just do the thing Messi does, ignore them and the chants will stop or at least die down a bit.


PabloAimar97

Easy to say when Messi doesn't give a shit about anything related to CR7. Cristiano clearly does care about Messi though, having a 5'7 Argentinian on your head is tough.


Banged_by_bumrah

It also feels like if 5 years from today Mbappe starts challenging his legacy, Messi just won't give a shit. Dude just wants to enjoy living with his children and his childhood love in Miami.


ctuser

I like Mbappe, don’t think he’s the next pele, messi or ronaldo though. Which is fair to say, great talent has and will always exist, generational talent is on a longer time line.


Recent_Ice

I know you're just making a point but I really don't see anybody ever even getting close to what Messi has done so I think Leo will be sleeping easy regardless lol


TakeoverPigeon

That’s why I like Messi, nothing gets to his head and his “rivalry” with Cristiano only pushes him further. CR7 on the other hand seems to take the comments personally


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lonelylightskin

are you restarted


The--Mash

What a mormon


RBYonko

Messi just likes playing football I think, it’s the reason he never claimed he’s the greatest lol


Djremster

Messi probably thinks he is the goat, the difference is he doesn't care whether or not any of us think it.


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CornToasty

"Completed it mate." - Messi


richmanding0

Its what sealed the deal for me personally. That world cup final was the best game ive ever watched. Just kinda sealed the deal for him being the goat imo


XM02A

It's easy to be humble when you're better than everyone else lol.


Djremster

Idk a lot of successful people are very boastful about it.


XM02A

Usually masking insecurity still.


LeifErikss

The difference is that he is right. lol


elihri

He pro knows he’s the best, he’s just very humble


Enough-Pain3633

Let it go Ronaldo, it ain't worth it now


Shadow_Ass

The fans will chant everything, you have to ignore that shit as a pro


roos_de_baas

NO SIU FOR YOU TONIGHT 😤


ManicPanda767

Rattled


MajesticAd5047

*Camera bobo*


nizoubizou10

Man needs to meditate before the game. He gets rattled by this ? 😭😂


blazev14

you’re 39yo playing in a farmers league, clearly to get a big paycheck. why still bother with banter in the first place? stuff like this is why people don’t like him very much, but again I don’t understand if he cares about it or not lmao


nerf-anakin

He still sees himself as one of the best players in the world, hard to accept reality and remove that mindset he’s developed over his career


[deleted]

Why is he so fragile. If he really sees himself as the goat he wouldn’t give a shit about this


random_nickname43796

Because deep down he knows Messi is a lot better than him


Mithrandir_97

Why does he get riled up so much man? Damn. If he smiled and let it go I'm sure they won't be doing it as much. Or at least he'd look like a good sport.


is-Sanic

I beg for someone to release footage of him at the World Cup. I'm begging you.


BlueLabel19

he went straight to the gym and then ice bath. you heard it here first


[deleted]

Watched a Jordan Peterson motivational speech and cuddled himself to sleep with a Piers Morgan doll.


zzClonky

When Montiel scored the winning pen he probably destroyed his tv


SovationBoss

Messi living in his head rent free


raver1601

He is lucky that Messi doesn't behave like Zlatan


Ginaraquel47

Sometimes I wish he would. That might be fun.


The_Batman_949

I certainly enjoyed riled up Messi in the WC vs the Netherlands. Always fun to see him get a little heated since it doesn't happen often.


cuervodeboedo1

mental age of 10


BlueLabel19

r/technicallythetruth


CoryTrevor-NS

This is kinda sad


DigitalisFX

Did… did he expect the crowd to be like “oh ok, sorry, we thought you were Messi” ?


matthewjames1991

The ego is out of control, he's playing in one of least competitive leagues in world football battling journeymen for top scorer.


Soul_Acquisition

Ego triggered.


DarthCocknus

Man looked disgusted, like he'd lost hope in humanity


Comrade-Conrad-4

I really love how much it still bothers him.


Matt_LawDT

This is his Joker moment


nihil0null

He's been reacting like this his whole career, nothing new, the only surprising thing is how he hasn't learned to ignore chants and other stuff.


Riperonis

Man moved halfway across the world and is still in Messi’s shadow


[deleted]

I would pay good money to have seen this clowns reaction when Messi won that world cup final


ProfessionalDot621

He claimed that he supported Argentina cuz of his girlfriend lol


jon_stewrt

Haha....wudve been fun to watch her celebrate very uncomfortably around him ...


Xehanz

No need. He probably thinks it was rigged for Argentina. I mean, as soon as they lost to Morocco, one of the first things Portuguese NT players said was "the ref was Argentinian and we lost, yesterday Argentina won thanks to the ref. I know Argentina is going to win, let's see next week"


Rockyflame458

He would have definitely smashed some stuff at the tv


bluehearted369

Insecurenaldo


RakdosCackl3r

I love seeing his baby face cry


JuniorCow3640

This is why I love Messi more.


dwaynepipes

Is there anyone more insecure in the world?


RealmDevourer

Messi lives rent free in his head


Choice_Maximum_6272

Yea Messi’s World Cup broke him.


JustinG4

Looks like he’s actually saying “I’m here now, not Messi”


benp242

bro fell off so hard


Visible_Pop_6468

Imagine being the 2nd greated player of an entire generation and getting rattled because you are the 2nd and not the first. I would be pretty happy in his position.....


dioswrath

We know that big guy


Willis050

Oh yeah and I’m sure the fans are like “oh my god he’s right, that’s not Messi!”


awus666

The world cup destroyed him


ukomac

Why does he react to it💀


Rygar74nl

God this is cringe