Cristiano Ronaldo would have been “fuming” to see his long-time rival Lionel Messi lifting the World Cup with Argentina on Sunday, according to former Premier League ace Darren Bent. And Bent also believes the Portugal striker would have turned his notifications off during the showpiece event in Qatar. Messi was in fine form at Lusail Stadium as he bagged two goals before helping his country defeat France in a penalty shootout.
Speaking on talkSPORT, presenter Andy Goldstein said: “It doesn’t matter what Ronaldo does now for the rest of his career, Messi gets that World Cup winners’ medal which he won’t get.”
And Bent replied: “That’s it, he’s fuming. Someone who’s a serial winner like Ronaldo, I could understand why that would bother him, Messi winning that World Cup.”
Bent was then quizzed over whether Ronaldo would have tuned in to watch Messi and his team-mates in action during the final. And the ex-England international added: “No way. Turned all his updates off, notifications off, everything.”
READ MORE: Transfer news LIVE – Chelsea’s Garnacho bid, Man Utd in Martinez swap
Ronaldo and Messi are two of the greatest players to ever walk the earth. The forwards have shared a staggering 12 Ballon d’Ors between them, with the Argentine winning the individual honour two more times than his nemesis. And Messi ensured he ended his career with the biggest trophy of all as he found top form in the Middle East.
Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the final before his country doubled their lead in the first half through Angel di Maria. France appeared to be out of the contest but halved their deficit as Kylian Mbappe fired in a penalty with 10 minutes remaining. And the Paris Saint-Germain ace lashed home a volley to equalise a minute later.
The match headed into extra time as Messi and Mbappe both found the back of the net once again. And it was Messi and the South American team who held their nerve from 12 yards as they won 4-2 on penalties.
DON’T MISS
Man Utd star Alejandro Garnacho ‘approached by Chelsea’
Tottenham will have concerns about six World Cup stars
Man Utd will have concerns about three World Cup stars
Ronaldo was at the World Cup with Portugal but failed to ignite the tournament as his country were dumped out by Morocco in the quarter-finals. The veteran struck in his country’s first match as they overcame Ghana 3-2, but didn’t score again in the tournament and was named on the bench for Portugal’s two knockout matches.
Messi, contrarily, enjoyed his best World Cup ever as he bagged seven goals and three assists in seven matches. And he added the illustrious prize to his trophy cabinet after tasting defeat in the 2014 final at the hands of Germany.
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
