"We didn't force him to say Ronaldo", "Here we go to Getafe" - Real Madrid fans react as summer signing claims Lionel Messi is his GOAT

Fans have reacted to new Real Madrid signing Franco Mastantuono naming Lionel Messi as his GOAT instead of Cristiano Ronaldo. The Argentine youngster was unveiled as a Los Blancos player on Thursday, August 14.

Mastantuono caught the eye with River Plate after rising through the ranks at the Estadio Monumental. The LaLiga giants beat away competition from multiple clubs, including Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), to secure his signature this summer.

During his presentation to the media, the 18-year-old was asked to name the best player in the world, and he opted for Lionel Messi.

“For me, it’s Messi. I’m Argentine, and for me, he’s the best,” said Mastantuono.

The new Real Madrid signing's response quickly went viral, and generated quite some buzz. Fans soon took to social media to give their opinion on the matter. One wrote:

"He just set himself up 😭"

Another quipped:

"Here we go to Getafe next season then"

One fan pointed out that Franco Mastantuono wasn't perfect, posting:

"All players can't be perfect !!"

Another chimed:

"We didn’t force him to say Ronaldo>>>>>>>>"

Franco Mastantuono has been handed the No. 30 shirt at Real Madrid, which means that he will be registered with Castilla instead of the senior side. The move will help the LaLiga giants keep space open for another addition this summer.

How many times has Cristiano Ronaldo faced Lionel Messi as a Real Madrid player?

Cristiano Ronaldo has faced Lionel Messi 30 times during his time with Real Madrid, winning eight games and losing 14. The Portuguese superstar first rose to prominence with Manchester United in the Premier League.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner moved to the Santiago Bernabeu in the summer of 2009 for a reported £80m fee. The move, interestingly, added more fuel to the already fiery El Clasico, because of the presence of Messi in the Barcelona team.

For the next nine seasons, Cristiano Ronaldo regularly went head-to-head with his archnemesis, and the two pushed each other to the limits of their capabilities. The saga was ultimately broken when the Portuguese superstar left Real Madrid in the summer of 2018 to move to Juventus.

However, his rivalry with Lionel Messi remains undiminished to this date. After three seasons at Turin, the 40-year-old had a brief second coming with Manchester United before moving to Al-Nassr in December 2022. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner currently plays in the Middle East.

About the author

Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over seven years at Sportskeeda. He has written more than 9500 articles for the website, and has garnered close to 21 million reads.

Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.

Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.

Deepungsu has been a Manchester United supporter since the year 2000. Unsurprisingly, his favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson and the Scotsman helped him get through some of the toughest days of his life. Like the fiery Scot, Deepungsu also leaves no stone unturned when it comes to accuracy in articles and only relies on credible sources.

Despite believing in Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland to create an iconic rivalry, Deepungsu reckons no one can match the longevity of Messi and Ronaldo. He spends his leisure time writing about life on his blog, reading books, and playing the guitar.

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Edited by Deepungsu Pandit