Ronaldo fans say they should give him respect, "because no matter what, this is his last World Cup." But they also forget that their criticism of Messi from 2016 to 2020 was even worse and often toxic. Back then, it was part of the great rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona fans, both of whom were still in La Liga.
The 2014-2020 season was the peak of the GOAT comparison. Messi had dominated the Ballon d'Or from the beginning until 2015, and Ronaldo was chasing him back with a UCL three-peat, a European Championship title, and a record-breaking goal tally. Ronaldo fans often responded to Messi's defeats or failures with hate. And the hate included comparisons, physical insults, calls of Messi as a coward or a bottleneck, and personal attacks.
Messi was often accused of failing to lead his team to victory in the final or knockout stages, despite the fact that he had also achieved great success. Rich examples: the 2014 World Cup final loss to Germany, the 2015 and 2016 Copa America losses on penalties to Chile, and then there was the time Barca lost to Atletico in the 2020 Supercopa. Ronaldo fans immediately started hating him, saying, "Messi can't even make it to the final."
Physical Insults (Dwarf, Short, Pessi): Messi is often called a dwarf or taunted as short. This is hate speech by Ronaldo fans to belittle his achievements. Pessi also mocked his missed penalty.
Tax Fraud or Personal Issues: Ronaldo fans often bring up Messi's tax evasion or other accusations to launch personal attacks.
"Messi relies solely on the team, while Ronaldo carries the team. There's a classic argument: Messi is considered superior only because Barca is a strong team, while Ronaldo works hard on his own.
Ronaldo fans also used this to claim CR7 over Messi in the GOAT debate. After Messi won the 2021 Copa America and the 2022 World Cup, this narrative completely reversed, but before that, this was the most toxic era for Messi from Ronaldo fans. So, don't ever expect Messi fans to respect Ronaldo, because they never will.
A disappointing result, but this defeat can serve as a learning experience and a basis evaluation for the team, ahead of the El Clásico match. Hopefully, the team can secure a positive result in the next game! Visça el Barça sempre! 💙❤️
@_Futbolero_ La línea defensiva del Barça es extremadamente frágil; deben fichar a un defensa el próximo mes de enero. Ojalá este partido sirva de aprendizaje para futuros encuentros y el Barça logre una victoria en el próximo Clásico.
@_Futbolero_ Estoy de acuerdo con lo que dijiste, hermano. Sin embargo, el partido de El Clásico es más decisivo que el próximo encuentro contra el PSG.
The same official who refused to give Arda Guler a red card tonight was the same referee who celebrated when Dani Olmo missed a penalty.
His name is Busquets Ferrer. We can't compete with Real Madrid buying Refs every game man. 😒