What’s the story?
Brazil legend Roberto Carlos has slammed former Liverpool and Manchester United striker Michael Owen after the Englishman joked about Ronaldo’s weight issues. The 40-year-old Brazilian [not current Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo] was at the receiving end last week of Owen’s jibe, which was not entertained by the World Cup winning duo.
"I don't like these type of jokes. Ronaldo is a very good friend of mine and we have to be careful. The thing about Ronaldo is not about his body, it's his heart, he has a very big heart,” Carlos said, as quoted by the Spanish publication AS.
In case you didn’t know...
Both Carlos and Ronaldo played a key role in helping Brazil win the 2002 FIFA World Cup success, which they won after defeating Germany in the final. It was the South American nation’s last success in the World Cup.
The former Brazil international duo were also part of the national squad that won the Copa America in 1997 and 1999. They also played together at Real Madrid, where they also shared the dressing room with Owen, who made a switch to the Spanish capital club after leaving Liverpool in 2004.
Owen had a disappointing spell at Real and left the La Liga giants after completing one season in Spain.
The heart of the matter
Ronaldo won the FIFA World Player of the Year in 1996, 1997 and 2002, while Owen was the winner of the Ballon d’Or in 2001. Both the former strikers were at the Santiago Bernabéu for Real’s fixture against Granada.
Cristiano Ronaldo won the 2016 Ballon d’Or and he paraded the award at Real’s home stadium. Both Ronaldo and Owen, along with other Real legends Luis Figo and Raymond Kopa were at the Bernabéu to show their support to the Portuguese international, who won his fourth Ballon d’Or award.
Owen took on social media and Tweeted a picture of him along with Ronaldo. The caption included a lighthearted joke about the two-time World Cup winning striker’s weight. The two Brazilians condemned the comment made by the former Premier League striker as Carlos went on to claim his compatriot has a “big heart.”
Sportskeeda’s take
It is unlikely the reaction of the Brazilian duo will have any impact on either Owen or Ronaldo. However, he has to be more careful while taking a jibe at any former players on Twitter.
