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Man United great Cristiano Ronaldo endorsed a post that criticised Lionel Messi’s Ballon d’Or win

Cristiano Ronaldo has seemingly fuelled his Ballon D’Or rivalry with Lionel Messi by endorsing an Instagram post that devalued the PSG superstar and his recent individual award win.

Regarded as two of the greatest (if not the greatest) players of all-time, Ronaldo and Messi have dominated world football for the best part of 15 years.

Indeed, they hold pretty much every record worth having between them.

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Supporters generally have their own favourite and returning Manchester United great Ronaldo has won five Ballon d’Ors since first picking up the coveted prize during his first spell at Old Trafford in 2008.

However, it was the Argentina forward who took centre stage at the 2021 ceremony — having finally reigned on the international stage, winning the Copa America.

Messi has now won the Ballon D’Or seven times and Ronaldo was voted in sixth place this year.

In turn, those results — and the fact Bayern Munich talisman Robert Lewandowski missed out on the award — has prompted widespread discussion, conspiracy theory and backlash among the global football community.

And on the back of Messi’s victory, a Ronaldo-dedicated Instagram page listed achievements from the Barcelona icon, Lewandowski and Ronaldo before coming to the conclusion that the Portuguese sensation ought to have won the 2021 version — going on to label him as the best player in history. (Manchester Evening News)

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