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Cristiano Ronaldo fan Piers Morgan believes BBC pundits went overboard with their praise of Lionel Messi after he helped Argentina beat Australia in the FIFA World Cup.
Argentina bounced back from their shock defeat to Saudi Arabia in their 2022 FIFA World Cup opener with three consecutive wins. Lionel Messi pulled the strings for them on each of those occasions.
The Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) superstar starred for La Albiceleste again as they beat Australia 2-1 to qualify for the quarter-finals of the tournament. He opened the scoring for his side and also left the world in awe with some of his mazy runs.
It was no different for the pundits on the BBC panel as they waxed lyrical about Lionel Messi's performance. Their opinions largely reflected the thoughts of the viewers at home, barring one person.
Morgan, who has developed a friendship with Cristiano Ronaldo, has accused pundits of swooning over the Argentina captain. The British broadcaster suggested that the player has not proven himself against a 'good team' at the 2022 FIFA World Cup yet. He wrote on Twitter:
"The relentless Messi fan-girling by the whole BBC punditry team is getting excruciatingly obsequious. Getting worried one of them might have an ‘accident’ in the studio. Calm yourselves, lads. He had a good game against an average side. See how he does against a good team."
Morgan recently made headlines for swearing his allegiance to Cristiano Ronaldo. He notably offered the Portuguese icon a platform on his YouTube channel to express his frustrations over Manchester United's treatment of him.
The controversial interview culminated in the Red Devils parting ways with the five-time Ballon d'Or winner. While the forward has been criticized for his actions in recent months, Morgan has continued to support him.
Can Cristiano Ronaldo fire Portugal to the World Cup quarter-finals like Lionel Messi?
Lionel Messi has three goals to his name in this FIFA World Cup and has fired Argentina into the quarter-finals of the tournament. He will now turn his attention towards his team's clash against the Netherlands on Friday (9 December).
Meanwhile, it remains to be seen if Cristiano Ronaldo can do the same with Portugal. A Selecao are scheduled to face Switzerland in the Round of 16 on Tuesday (December 6).
A win over Murat Yakin and Co. would see Portugal face either Morocco or Spain in the quarter-finals. It is possible that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo meet in the final of the competition.
