“They compare this monster to that tap in merchant” - Lionel Messi fans throw shade on Cristiano Ronaldo after Inter Miami hero sets incredible record

Lionel Messi fans online were left gloating at the expense of Cristiano Ronaldo after the Argentine icon achieved a new feat by scoring a brace to give Inter Miami a 2-1 win against New England Revolution. The goals saw Messi become the first player in football history to score 100 open-play goals from outside the box.

Fresh off a brace and an assist in the 4-1 win against Montreal last week, Lionel Messi continued his fine run of form, starring once again against New England Revolution on Wednesday. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner opened the scoring for Inter Miami in the 27th minute, capitalizing on a defensive lapse by The Revs and smashing the ball past goalkeeper Aljaž Ivačič.

He doubled his tally in the 38th minute after being released on goal and then unleashing an audacious low strike from the edge of the box. Carles Gil pulled one back for New England in the 80th minute.

After Messi’s brace helped him reach the historic milestone, his fans took to social media to throw shade at Cristiano Ronaldo, who falls way behind in comparison to that particular statistic. Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 70 open-play goals from outside the box.

An X user wrote:

“870 Goals, 68 Free kick goals, 100 Open play outside the box goals, 168 Outside the box goals. Some suggest he's not the best goalscorer ever. They compare this Monster to that Tap in merchant 😂😂😂”

Another declared Messi as the greatest player of all time writing:

“GOAT 🐐”

A fan insisted that records keep following the Argentine icon.

“The records keeps chasing him”, they wrote.

Another fan went on to claim that Messi is the greatest showman of his generation.

“938 goal and still not here okay Messi greatest showman of his generation not tap in merchant 🤣🤣💯”, they quipped.

This fan, meanwhile, decided to call the achievement insane:

“100 outside the box open play goals out of 870 total goals is INSANE”, they added.

In addition to becoming the first player to score a century of open-play goals from outside the box, Messi also set a new feat in the Major League Soccer (MLS). His brace against New England Revolution saw him become the first player in MLS history to score multiple goals in four consecutive games.

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“We are not friends” – Lionel Messi on his relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are two of the greatest players in the history of the sport. The pair have dominated the scene for almost two decades. In a recent interview, Lionel Messi lifted the lid on his relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo. The Inter Miami man praised his longtime rival but clarified that they are not personally close.

He told DSports:

“"I have a lot of respect and admiration for Cristiano Ronaldo and for the career he’s had and continues to have, because he’s still competing at the highest level. The competition with him was on the pitch. Each of us wanted to do the best for our team. Obviously, as always, everything stayed on the field. Off the pitch, we are two normal people. We’re not friends obviously because we don’t spend time together, but we’ve always treated each other with a lot of respect."

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have shared the Ballon d’Or 13 times between them, with the Argentine winning it a record eight times.