DCipher

Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise

[DCipher @iamDClement]

@piersmorgan

[Appie Culé @appiecule]

I’m going to take my time with this one. If you’re busy, save this post and read it later. If you’re a night owl like me, this is a good late-night read.

Do you know the worst thing about Cristiano Ronaldo?

It’s that he set the standards for what defines a legend… and in the end, he couldn’t even live up to the standards he created himself.

After winning Euro 2016, Ronaldo said:

“You can’t become a legend until you win a trophy with your national team.”

It was an obvious dig at Messi.

Argentina had just lost the 2014 World Cup final to Germany, and Messi was going through the toughest period of his international career. Those words only added fuel to the fire.

Where was the respect for a rival, Ronaldo?

The surprising part was that social media completely embraced that narrative. Messi was labeled a bottler, while Ronaldo was declared the winner of the rivalry—at least in the media, not on the pitch.

Then Messi retired from international football, came back, won the Copa América, and suddenly they were level in major international trophies.

What happened next?

Ronaldo fans started saying that one Euro is worth more than a hundred Copa Américas, claiming there was no competition in South America. Not true—but that became the excuse.

Then Messi went on to win the World Cup.

This time, the excuses changed again.

They claimed FIFA had fixed the tournament for Messi. That the World Cup was scripted in his favor. They simply didn’t know what else to say.

Then Ronaldo himself came out with one of the strangest quotes imaginable:

“A legend’s career can’t be defined by just seven games.”

At first glance, it sounds reasonable.

But beneath it was another attempt to diminish what Messi had achieved.

Before the World Cup, they insisted it would be Ronaldo’s tournament. On paper, Portugal had a fantastic squad. If the manager couldn’t get the best out of them, that’s Portugal’s problem—not Ronaldo’s.

Yet that same Portugal squad wasn’t any weaker than the Argentina team Messi led to the 2014 World Cup final—the same team people mocked Messi for not carrying to the title.

Just a couple of days ago, Ronaldo said:

“The World Cup doesn’t define my career, whether I win it or not.”

A statement that directly contradicts what he had said years earlier, when he admitted that winning the World Cup would make him feel completely fulfilled.

Now you’re 41 years old, Cristiano.

By your own standards:

* You have 5 Ballon d’Ors, not 8.
* You have one European Championship, not two Copa América titles.
* You never won the World Cup.
* You have four European Golden Shoes, while Messi has six—even though you’re an out-and-out striker.

So what now?

Will you keep playing until the next World Cup and become the first player to appear in one at 45, hoping to finally win it?

If we judged you by the standards you created, you wouldn’t qualify as a legend.

Of course, nobody actually judges you that way. Everyone still recognizes you as one of football’s greatest legends.

The real mistake was comparing Ronaldo to Messi in the first place.

That rivalry was exaggerated from the beginning by the media and figures like José Mourinho.

Messi conquered every major trophy available to him, shattered records that once seemed untouchable, and at 39 years old he’s still competing with Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland—the stars of the next generation—for the Golden Boot. And honestly, he could still win it.

What made Messi beloved by so many fans is that he never tried to diminish Ronaldo’s achievements.

Ronaldo, on the other hand, repeatedly made comments that many interpreted as attempts to downplay his greatest rival’s accomplishments—and that’s never an admirable trait.

Cristiano helped create a generation that thinks belittling other people’s achievements while constantly glorifying your own is a way to establish dominance.

Good bye. Ronaldo.

[DCipher @iamDClement]

@goal @omomani https://t.co/8HblxJQiaO

[Ulises @UlisesDavid__]

7 años después...

[Noorie @Nurapost]

Guess who will get the blame if Portugal loses to Spain:

1. Messi
2. FIFA
3. The referee
4. Teammates who didn't pass to Ronaldo
5. All of the above

[Argentinean 🇦🇷 @oba_ijebu]

Even here, FIFA helped MESSI!😂😂😂

[Barça Worldwide @BarcaWorldwide]

Me: “Messi already won the World Cup, I don't care if he never wins anything again.”

Me when Cape Verde scored:

[Islam Bouafif 🇹🇳🇵🇸 @BouafifNour]

“Finally I can watch Messi at a World Cup without any stress, after he already won it.”

Also me in a round of 32 game against Cape Verde:

[Afghan Zoroastrian @AfgZoroastrian]

Japan and Germany got totally destroyed in WW2.

But their kids didn’t become terrorists.

Stop making excuses for yours.

[MEME THE LEFT @memetheleft]

The same people who cheered for John Wick killing dozens of people to avenge his dog are super mad about a vigilante killing Muslim rapists.

[Jack Posobiec @JackPosobiec]

When you hear Netflix cast Meryl Streep as Aslan

[433 @433]

𝟑𝟗 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐋 𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈 🎉

On this day 39 years ago, a young boy was born in Rosario. 🇦🇷

For almost two decades, we have watched magic, records, trophies, and moments that will live forever in football history.

World Cup, Champions League, Ballon d'Ors... He has won everything there is to win.

He has now turned 39, but he is still delivering. Still scoring goals. Still doing it all as if it’s the most normal thing in the world.

Happy Birthday, Lionel Messi. And thank you for giving us all these magic moments. 🥹

[Tom Garratt @Tgarratt10]

Oh ffs now we gotta hear about this from Piers Morgan for 4 weeks

[60 Minutes @60Minutes]

"I enjoy football in the same way I did when I was a little kid,” Lionel Messi told 60 Minutes in 2013.

More than a decade later, the Argentine superstar is still making history, breaking the world record for most goals scored in the World Cup.

[ANMOL JAMWAL @jammypants4]

MESSI is the GOAT and has always been ❤️
Those who know ball, knew it was never a debate!

[george @StokeyyG2]

THE GREATEST THERE IS.

THE GREATEST THERE WAS.

THE GREASTEST THERE EVER WILL BE.

LIONEL MESSI.

[ACCRA MAYOR 🥲🥷 @0panaa_1]

He missed a penalty and he’s still smiling. Thank you, Qatar 2022 we don’t have that World Cup pressure anymore. 😂🐐

[DCipher @iamDClement]

@piersmorgan Cry louder

[B/R Football @brfootball]

Messi logic 🐐

[Messi World @M10GOAT]

هدف الأسطورة ليو ميسي التاريخي من المدرجات 😍🚨