Argentina’s loss, with Number 10 in the squad, has renewed the Ronaldo-Messi rivalry on social media, especially given the positive vibes around Ronaldo after his joyful win in the 2016 Euros and this summer’s Nations League with Portugal.
Some fans treated Ronaldo’s wins as more than sufficient grounds to think that he is the better player, as compared to Barcelona icon Messi, who is still trophy-less on the international stage.
Lionel Messi should quit Argentina. The golden generation underperformed yet again.
— Henry7 (@high_on_manutd) 3 июля 2019 г.
Cristiano Ronaldo won 2 trophies with players you forget which teams they play for
I know my GOAT pic.twitter.com/WVEgPrc9v7
Don’t ever compare my Goat to Other player.#Cristiano Ronaldo for Portugal 🇵🇹
— Hari #Cr7 (@Indianaldo) 3 июля 2019 г.
2-0
Lionel #Messi for Argentina 🇦🇷
My GOAT 😉
The End.
wake me up when Messi wins a Tropy for Argentina and we can start. pic.twitter.com/qQR72ruDij
Speculation ran high on if Messi will ever be able to get an international trophy for his home country:
Don't ever tell me Lionel Messi is the GOAT ever again. Dominated by Cristiano Ronaldo in the Champions League and International Football, but he can be the GOAT of La Liga if he wants. Must be fun scoring braces against Huesca and Getafe every weekend.
— Offseason Alex 📲💻 (@OKCTHUNDERAlex) 3 июля 2019 г.
How can you call Lionel Messi the greatest of all time when he has never won a major trophy with Argentina's national team. All his major achievements are tied to Barcelona.
— -CR7 Paaji- (@Kakarla07) 3 июля 2019 г.
That's an insult to real GOAT'S like Cristiano Ronaldo, Maradona and Pele. pic.twitter.com/A4s5kISUwH
Cristiano Ronaldo:
— Filipe Orlando 🌏 (@MrFilipeOrlando) 3 июля 2019 г.
International tournaments played: 9
International tournament wins: 2
Lionel Messi:
International tournaments played: 10
International tournament wins: 0 pic.twitter.com/xRM7VcTn03
One even brought up what Lionel Messi himself had to say on the subject some time ago:
Lionel Messi: Only Cristiano Ronaldo can bring back glory to Argentina football team. #CopaAmerica pic.twitter.com/PVjgeKEYyg
— -CR7 Paaji- (@Kakarla07) 3 июля 2019 г.
There were those, however, who stood up in Messi’s defence, arguing that he is no less a star than his Portuguese rival:
Messi in big games be like #messi #argentina #lionelmessi #leomessi #fcb #fcbarcelona #barcelona #copaamerica #brasil #brazil #real #madrid #realmadrid #troll #funny #memes #football #futbol #futebol #soccer #cr7 #Ronaldo #cristianoronaldo #cristiano #barca #barça pic.twitter.com/L06pFyF7MH
— Real Madrid Hub (@MadridHub4Real) 3 июля 2019 г.
Brazil swept past Argentina 2-0 with Premier League stars Gabriel Jesus and Roberto Firmino netting goals. However, the semi-final wasn’t without a tad of controversy around it, as the referee made no use of VAR throughout the tense clash, with some fans arguing there was a clear Argentina penalty had been disregarding, when when Sergio Aguero was attacked off the ball by Dani Alves.
