Once again, Cristiano Ronaldo has stirred up the football world by answering a seemingly harmless question that led to a controversial statement. In a recent interview with a European sports TV channel, a reporter asked him: “You are a billionaire, so what about Messi?” — and Ronaldo responded with a statement that left the entire studio “holding their breath”.
Ronaldo chuckled and said:
“I think it’s something that shouldn’t be mentioned, because he’s not in the same class as me. It’s like I can spend 50 million dollars just to prove that I live differently from him.”
The statement immediately went viral on social media, causing the global football community to split into two distinct camps. One side said this was CR7’s “familiar arrogance”, while the other side said that Ronaldo was just telling the truth – that his success and class far surpass anyone, including Lionel Messi.
Major newspapers such as Marca, AS, and Daily Mail all reprinted the Portuguese superstar’s statement. Marca commented: “Ronaldo doesn’t just want to be remembered as a great player, but as the only legend.” Meanwhile, AS believes that the “$50 million” quote could be a metaphor for how Ronaldo wants to prove his difference – not only financially, but also in lifestyle and winning mindset.
On social network X (Twitter), the hashtag #RonaldoVsMessi quickly climbed to the top 1 trending worldwide in just a few hours. Fans argued fiercely:
One account wrote: “Ronaldo is right. He is self-made, he created his own career, while Messi is gifted and has a support system. The two of them cannot be compared.”
Another person responded: “Talent is not about the amount of money spent. Messi is still the one who brings home more titles, and that is the real measure.”
A source close to Ronaldo revealed that CR7 “didn’t mean to insult Messi,” but simply wanted to emphasize that his career was built on relentless effort. “He feels that people always compare him to Messi, and sometimes that’s unfair. Ronaldo believes he deserves to be recognized as a legend on his own, not as one half of a rivalry,” the source added.
However, the Argentine press didn’t see it that way. Clarin published an article with the scathing headline: “Ronaldo can’t stand that Messi is still the more popular one.” They believed that CR7 was trying to create attention before announcing a new business venture — a luxury brand that combines fashion and sports, said to be worth tens of millions of dollars.
Meanwhile, Lionel Messi has remained silent. He did not respond to any questions regarding Ronaldo’s statement, but only shared a photo of himself training with his teammates at Inter Miami with a simple caption: “Working hard every day.”
What is worth mentioning is that this silence has made fans even more curious. Is Messi keeping quiet because he does not want to confront, or is he simply no longer considering Ronaldo as a “rival that needs to be answered”?
From any perspective, Ronaldo’s “$50 million” statement has become the center of the biggest controversy of the past week. It not only rekindled the “GOAT” (greatest of all time) war between the two legends, but also made one thing clear: after many years, the competition between Ronaldo and Messi has never really ended.
