Okwute 🪨🗽🗿

That moving man...🏆

[Okwute 🪨🗽🗿 @PeterStone__]

Cristiano Ronaldo is their greatest nightmare, and he keeps tormenting them.

[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.

[Okwute 🪨🗽🗿 @PeterStone__]

We all know it's a 100% penalty if it was Argentina.
It's obvious now FIFA does everything and will do everything for Messi.

[DON “Tobechukwu” Ade 👑 @Row_Haastrup]

Mbappe was denied a penalty cos they don’t want him to compete with Messi for the golden boot…

It wasn’t intentional.
Rubbish

[Okwute 🪨🗽🗿 @PeterStone__]

Humble una!
A big fraud!!!
The truth will all come out one day, maybe when he retires.

[OFF THARGET @Khofidhestro]

The fact that he does this and Refs ignored it ,is what makes me mad 😡

Always been favored 🤡😘

[Okwute 🪨🗽🗿 @PeterStone__]

I will never understand the special treatment shown towards Argentina and Messi. 🤦‍♂️

[SENYO @Senyyo]

A thief stole my items, and the police arrested me instead of the thief! 🤣🤣🤣

[Dr Yash  @YashRMFC]

Best World Cup duos

[່🇵🇹 @pxrcyishim]

His fans are celebrating him as the World Cup all time top scorer but frown at Ronaldo being the all time top scorer in football.

[Okwute 🪨🗽🗿 @PeterStone__]

They're on it again 💔

[SENYO @Senyyo]

Give the trophy to Argentina already

No Card No Card👏

[SENYO @Senyyo]

Give the trophy to Argentina already

No Card No Card👏

[Mark Goldbridge @markgoldbridge]

This ref is the worse I've seen. So pro Argentina

[Polymarket Sports @PolymarketSport]

🚨TRENDING: Lautaro Martínez kicked through the back of the Austrian player

[Okwute 🪨🗽🗿 @PeterStone__]

@Ovie_henry63826 @dammiedammie35 Are you sick?

[Okwute 🪨🗽🗿 @PeterStone__]

DSS?
Is Nigeria really a country?
What is really wrong with all the arms and law institutions in this country? 💔

[Oyindamola🙄 @dammiedammie35]

“Look at what they’re doing to Sowore inside the court room, look at what DSS is doing to him, look at what they’re doing in the court room, do you want to shuut us ? Do you want to kp@! Us ? Shameless people”💔💔

Sowore supporters shouts at the security officials r0ugh handl!ng Sowore as they take him out of the court room this afternoon

[Okwute 🪨🗽🗿 @PeterStone__]

@fe89663 @UTDKarra It wasn't Lukaku's goal, it was an own goal bro.

[Okwute 🪨🗽🗿 @PeterStone__]

@fe89663 @UTDKarra An own goal, not their goal.

[Okwute 🪨🗽🗿 @PeterStone__]

@evanisajoke @UTDKarra It was an own goal.

[Okwute 🪨🗽🗿 @PeterStone__]

@jesusdestroys @CFCElorm @UTDKarra So Belgium hasn't scored then?

[Okwute 🪨🗽🗿 @PeterStone__]

@fe89663 @UTDKarra Belgium hasn't scored yet.

[Okwute 🪨🗽🗿 @PeterStone__]

@maverick30102 @DanivanWesselX @Edidi2014 @UTDKarra It was an own goal

[Okwute 🪨🗽🗿 @PeterStone__]

@Tai_Tife_Austin @UTDKarra Where is Belgium?