Nikhil

Chat shit get banged.

[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.

[Chris Dixon @chrismd10]

I remember my Dad saying to me in 2010 to watch as many Barcelona games and as much of Messi as I possibly could for these years, because we'll look back and wish we were there for every minute of him on a football pitch.

15 years on, after catching as many of the Sunday evening 4/5/6-0 trouncings of unfortunate Spanish clubs as I could, and too much money on obscure Spanish broadcasting subscriptions, I'm extremely thankful for that pointer 😂

You just sort of knew you'd never see anyone kicking a football at this level again in your lifetime 🐐

[ishan @ishansolo]

Imagine being a blood thirsty 300 kilo wild beast with a history of having killed other adult tigers and then being called “CHHOTA matka”

[Nikhil @nikhilinho]

@mainbhiengineer Abd - Messi - Djokovic person

[Nikhil @nikhilinho]

@cagiago_ @grok @grok what about me

[flicki flacka @youphemise]

Every year, he needs himself a white boyfriend

[𝐆𝐚𝐣 ✯ @yanitedgaj]

strolling around, scanning the pitch effectively while scratching his balls until the ball is coming closer. this is Messi.

[Nikhil @nikhilinho]

@sourabhdosi69 @rahul_saggi Yes hold for 10 years

[sophie @netcapgirl]

when you say 50 basis points instead of half a percent

[Martin VII @Nedao454]

Imagine being a englishman, 2 finals lost in a row, your food is the one they use in Guantanamo, your women are Simpsons characters, tomorrow is snowing, and a pakistan illegal inmigrant wants to stab you

[Ichigo Niggasake @SomaKazima]

He was fighting DEMONS 😭😭😭

[cult blood @sp0derm4nn]

jab chicken chota tha usse school kon chorhne jaata tha?

chicken kabap aur chicken keema 😭🔥😭🔥😭🔥🤣🔥🤣🔥🤣🔥🤣

[Dan Nouement @nomanautomata]

They need to create a job that's 4 hours of programming in the morning and 4 hours of mindlessly loading boxes onto a truck in the afternoon.

[David Patrikarakos @dpatrikarakos]

I've got a Tottenham shirt with Ndombele on it.

[kira 👾 @kirawontmiss]

Tom was sick as heII for this😭

[M🍥 @Mo_utdred]

Antony scoring to save Ten Hag's job.

[THE SKIN DOCTOR @theskindoctor13]

Vishnu Tiwari's family had a land dispute with a Dalit family in Lalitpur, UP. They filed a case of rape and casteist abuses under the SC/ST Act against Tiwari in 2005.

He was jailed and sentenced to 20 yrs for both cases. After 2005, no one could meet Vishnu in jail for 12 yrs. In 2017, when his younger brother came to meet him, he revealed that he had sold all the land to fight his case and presently had nothing left. His parents and two brothers had died during his jail time, and he couldn't even attend the funerals.

Finally, a govt lawyer heard him, fought his case and ultimately, the High Court found Vishnu innocent.

Vishnu Tiwari stayed in jail for 20 yrs for a crime he didn't commit, losing his youth, parents, brothers, house, land, and the will to live. To make things worse, there is apparently no counter case against those who falsely framed him, and he received no compensation for his misery.

Tiwari's case is one of the many instances of the misuse of the SC/ST Act, and it seems like nobody is keen to address this issue.

[Tifoso @TifosoCo]

One of the most underrated players of his generation…