Bo

[UEFA @UEFA]

Statement on behalf of UEFA and its 55 National AssociationStatement on behalf of UEFA and its 55 National AssociationStatement on behalf of UEFA and its 55 National AssociationStatement on behalf of UEFA and its 55 National Associations

[𝐓𝐌 @TouchmineX]

🚨📊 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗧: Argentina in the World Cup so far:

• Fouls committed: 88 (most)
• Yellow cards received: 9 (1 every 9.8 fouls)
• Tackles: 141 (most)
• Penalties gifted: 3 (most)
• Opponents booked: 14 (most)
• Red cards received: 0
• Opponents sent off: 1
• Opponents’ goals disallowed: 3 (most)
• Controversial VAR decisions avoided: 10 (most)

Coincidence, or something more? 🤔🇦🇷

[Antonie🇪🇸 @tip0DeIncogni]

El mundo entero viendo el España vs Argentina:

[gam @mbafraaude]

Todas las jugadas polémicas del Argentina vs Cabo Verde. Escandaloso. https://t.co/mMblyHxo7k

[Martien 🇳🇱 @MartienBall]

Henry and Ibrahimovic, grab a pen and paper and take notes on how to analyse with objectivity instead of jealousy.

[Infiltrado Blanco @InfiltradoRM]

En el 2010, Messi marca CERO goles en el Mundial.

- Gana el Balón de Oro

Dijeron que 7 partidos no es nada.

En el 2022, Haaland gana triplete y Messi le regalan el Mundial a punta de penaltis.

- Messi gana el Balón de Oro jugando en la MLS, porque dijeron que el Mundial pesa más que todo.

El sistema siempre favorece a Messi, lo han inflado en títulos, premio y estadísticas.

Si no ves, es porque eres tonto 😂😂..

[Kimi Regal @RegalKimi]

After Ronaldo won EURO 2016 while Messi was still without a senior international trophy, a common argument across football media, punditry and mainstream football discourse was that international trophies were not essential to determining individual greatness. Football was said to be a team sport, and a player’s legacy should not be reduced to what he won with his national team.

At the time, Messi had lost four major international finals with Argentina and had even retired from international football after the 2016 Copa América final defeat to Chile.

A few months later, Messi returned. What followed was an unusually busy Copa América schedule. The tournament was played in 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2021, four editions in just six years. Many observers could not help but notice that a player who had repeatedly fallen short was being given more opportunities to win in a short period and rightly so. Eventually, Messi won the 2021 Copa América.

For years, the football world had been told that international trophies were not necessary to be considered the greatest of all time. When Messi lacked an international trophy, the importance of international success was routinely downplayed.

Similarly, when Messi lacked a World Cup, it was not considered essential to being the GOAT. Once he won it in Qatar, however, the World Cup was elevated from being one achievement among many to the achievement that supposedly settled the GOAT debate forever.

To many Ronaldo supporters, this is the clearest example of shifting goalposts in football history. The standards appeared to change at every stage until they aligned perfectly with Messi’s résumé. What was once irrelevant became important. What was important became essential. And once Messi achieved it, the debate was declared over.

In Qatar, Argentina received five penalties during the tournament, a World Cup record for a single team in one edition. Several refereeing decisions involving Argentina remain debated to this day, including Messi’s handball incident against the Netherlands that some believe warranted a second yellow card.

For many critics, these were not isolated incidents but part of a wider pattern they believe has followed Messi throughout his career, where controversial decisions repeatedly seem to fall in his favour. They point to numerous moments over the years where they believe punishments that would have been applied to other players were overlooked when Messi was involved. Some supporters have even argued that similar concerns resurfaced only recently, after another incident in which they believe Messi was fortunate to avoid a red card.

Whether one agrees with that view or not, it has become a significant reason why many Ronaldo supporters remain sceptical of the narrative surrounding Messi’s achievements and the way they are discussed by the football establishment and mainstream media.

For many Ronaldo supporters, the issue has never simply been about preferring one player over another. It is about what they perceive as inconsistent standards. They see achievements weighed differently depending on who accomplished them. They see one player protected from scrutiny while the other is subjected to it at every turn.

That is why many continue to side with Ronaldo. Not because to many he is the greatest to ever kick a ball or he has won every trophy or because he is beyond criticism, but because they believe the standards applied to him have often been harsher than those applied to his greatest rival.

They would rather support a player who loses with his honour intact than celebrate victories they believe are surrounded by unanswered questions.

As José Mourinho once said: “If I have to win in that way, I would be ashamed.”

For them, the issue is not simply who won. It is whether the criteria for greatness remained consistent throughout the debate. In their view, they did not.

[Bo @BoFauxSho]

@_onlyscott Uruguay

[Bo @BoFauxSho]

@alec_shuman @goal @Cristiano @AlNassrFC_EN Number 1 most followed athlete in the world. Lots of people care.

[Bo @BoFauxSho]

@alec_shuman @ESPNFC 4 out of 6 guys in that back line of players are doing it. Don’t be such a hater

[Joe Pompliano @JoePompliano]

Manchester United is one of the world's most iconic sports franchises.

But they haven't won the Premier League in a decade, and the ownership group has taken more than $1 billion off the table while saturating the club with debt.

It's a wild story.

Here are the details 👇

[Manchester United Die Hard Fans @DieHardUtdFans]

#GlazersOut has dropped significantly down the list of trends.

Let’s get it back up there again. Leave your #GlazersOut within this tweet!🔰

[Bo @BoFauxSho]

@sboyd88 @JoeVedovino @alec_shuman @DougWintemberg Start saving up boys. We’re getting a box

[Bo @BoFauxSho]

@FrankKhalidUK The most glaring thing that this shows is that money alone won’t buy you success in Europe. You need a properly structured club that develops talent and allocates funds in the right ways to truly ascend to the top of European football

[Bo @BoFauxSho]

@sboyd88 They’re in the studio, it’s beautiful

[Morgi @danmorgi34]

Serie A: 98% of players double vaccinated.

Ligue 1: 95% of players double vaccinated.

Bundesliga: 94% of players double vaccinated.

La Liga: 90%+ of players double vaccinated.

Premier League: 68% of players doubled vaccinated.

Only one league with fixtures being cancelled.

[Bo @BoFauxSho]

@strautwein01 Let’s fucking gooooo

[Bo @BoFauxSho]

@strautwein01 Let’s not get crazy here Scotty

[Bo @BoFauxSho]

@KingKohle83 @alec_shuman @sboyd88 @KyleVeltre @Joe_Kohle @stav_elhaggar Honestly, that’s is a next level miss. You would really have to try to do what that guy did

[Bo @BoFauxSho]

@JoeVedovino @alec_shuman @CryingSon It’s absolutely beautiful