Up to this point, Ronaldo and Messi are still considered the two most popular players in world football , even though their combined ages are over 70.

According to recent statistics, the number of followers on Messi ‘s Instagram social network account has now increased to 500 million, right behind Ronaldo who has 662 million followers. Messi and Ronaldo are also the only two people in the world to reach the milestone of having 500 million followers or more on this social network.

Because they were at this age, both of them moved to play football in tournaments that were considered less attractive, Saudi Arabia’s Saudi Pro League and America’s MLS , but in return they received huge income.

Ronaldo is facing many difficulties in the Saudi Pro League even though he is still playing hard.

However, if Messi still retains his appeal to American football fans, Ronaldo is in a much more difficult situation, although football in Saudi Arabia is still much more popular than in the US.

After the match in round 23 of the Saudi Pro League, Ronaldo and his teammates showed a lackluster performance and lost to the opponent ranked at the bottom of the table, Al Raed. Immediately after this match at Al Nassr’s Al-Awwal Park, Al Raed’s fans continued to chant “Messi, Messi, Messi” to tease Ronaldo.

He often has celebrations that make opposing fans angry

The recent continuous chants have made Ronaldo feel uncomfortable and react. At the climax of the match against Al Shabab Club on February 26, the famous Portuguese player, in addition to reacting, also had offensive behavior that caused a wave of protests. On February 29, the Saudi Pro League Disciplinary Committee was forced to ban Ronaldo from playing one match and fine him 2,500 euros for inciting rival fans.

This is not the first time the Portuguese player has acted offensively towards fans. In April last year, after Al Nassr lost 0-2 to rival Al Hilal, when leaving the field Ronaldo seemed to grab his genitals towards the opponent’s fans.

A familiar celebration of Ronaldo at the Saudi Pro League

REUTERS

In early February, Ronaldo also took almost the same action after Al Nassr’s loss to Al Hilal with a score of 0-2 at the Riyadh Season Cup. This famous player, while leaving the field, grabbed an opponent’s fan’s scarf and threw it down, stuffed it into his pants, then took it out and threw it away before entering the tunnel.

It can be said that these consecutive bad actions of Ronaldo have made him unpopular with the majority of fans in Saudi Arabia.

Not only fans of rival teams, even fans of Al Nassr, the team Ronaldo is playing for, also expressed disappointment with his misses in the match against Al Ain in the quarterfinals of the second leg of the AFC Champions League. On March 12, the highlight was a buffer from 2 meters away in the 61st minute, causing the home team to be instantly eliminated. On social networks, the Portuguese player was ridiculed: “Worst miss of Ronaldo’s career”, “Shocking shot”…

Messi creates great attraction for American audiences

REUTERS

On the contrary, Messi is eagerly anticipated by American audiences every week in MLS. The number of tickets as well as ticket prices of Inter Miami Club sold this season increased rapidly. Thanks to that, the revenue of this team also increased by a huge number.

Even the festive atmosphere of Los Angeles FC (LAFC), Inter Miami’s rival, before each match is influenced by Messi when he comes to BMO Stadium to play. Outside BMO Stadium, the exciting atmosphere multiplied when Messi’s number 10 shirts were hung everywhere. Some LAFC fans even created their own home team shirts but with the number 10 and Messi’s name on the back. They look longingly at what Messi has brought to Inter Miami, both in terms of expertise and other added values.

American fans wore Messi shirts to watch him play

In the stands, countless of the world’s top celebrities in every field come to watch Messi play every week. They are LeBron James, Selena Gomez, Leonardo Di Caprio, Tom Holland, Prince Harry… They are leading figures in the world of sports and entertainment, but they also have to work hard to win a ticket to the tournament. Admire Messi playing football.

They were both praised for competing at the top of world football for more than a decade at their peak, but when they both entered the twilight of their careers in two tournaments that were not considered prestigious. , it seems that Ronaldo and Messi are entering different turns.