Cristiano Ronaldo 'likes' and comments on Instagram post that says Lionel Messi shouldn't have more than 5 Ballon d'Or awards

Cristiano Ronaldo has caused a social media frenzy after interacting with a post suggesting that Lionel Messi should not have won more than 5 Ballons d'Or.

A recent Instagram post alleged that the Argentine superstar was not intent on playing for Paris Saint-Germain and was focused on playing for the World Cup. It went on to suggest that he won the prestigious award over Xavi and Andres Iniesta once. The post also stated that Robert Lewandowski should have won in 2021 and Erling Haaland should have won in 2023.

The post read:

"Hello friends. What we knew happened, they were going to give Messi another Ballon d'Or again. 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 6 penalties... The World Cup was 10 months ago, it's November. Messi has 8 Ballon d'Ors, he should have had 5. He has Iniesta/Xavi's Ballon d'Or, Lewandowski's who won 6 trophies in one season and Haaland's who was the top scorer."

Ronaldo interacted with the post by liking it. He also commented with laughing emojis under the post.

Messi lifted his eighth Ballon d'Or in Paris yesterday, beating the likes of Haaland and Kylian Mbappe. The Portuguese superstar, on the other hand, has won the prestigious award five times, with his last victory coming in 2017.

Lionel Messi once opened up on the possibility of playing alongside Cristiano Ronaldo

Inter Miami superstar Lionel Messi spoke about the opportunity of playing with Cristiano Ronaldo back in 2015.

The pair have established themselves as two of the most successful players in football history. They have created a duopoly over the Ballon d'Or, winning it a combined 13 times. Luka Modric and Karim Benzema are the only players except the two to win the award since 2008.

The pair dominated La Liga for most of the 2010s, creating an epic rivalry between Barcelona and Real Madrid. However, Messi once admitted that he would like to see Ronaldo as a teammate.

He said (via the Mirror):

"Yes, of course," he said when pressed for comment on the subject. "I always like to play with the best, and he is one of them. I think it will be difficult for us to play in the same team, but obviously I would like to. I was lucky enough to play and participate with many very good players and, obviously, I would also like to do it with him."

The 36-year-old lifted his eighth Ballon d'Or trophy yesterday, extending his record for the most trophies won by any player. The Al-Nassr star is second on the list with five.