The rivalry between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi is one of the most intense competitions in all of sports. The Portuguese and the Argentine have won a combined seven Ballon d’Or awards between them and have also scored in two Champions League finals each. Both of them have also racked up more than 400 goals for club and country.
Even though they’re distinctly different in technique and physique, Ronaldo and Messi both create and score a ridiculous number of goals every year, constantly shattering old records and almost making them unbeatable with each passing game. They have lifted the standards of their game to another level, and in doing so, have created a huge level of expectancy from their fans.
At club level, the two players face off at least twice every season courtesy the El Clasico, with Messi representing Barcelona and Ronaldo representing Real Madrid. They are also the faces of rival sportswear brands off the field, with Messi endorsing Adidas and Ronaldo endorsing Nike, despite Barcelona being sponsored by Nike and Real Madrid being sponsored by Adidas.
Considering how good the two players are, it is no surprise that their rivalry has been compared to legendary global sport rivalries like Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in boxing, the Bjorn Borg-John McEnroe tennis rivalry, and the Ayrton Senna-Alain Prost Formula One rivalry. The supporters of both players really look forward to their clashes, and in the process, create a ton of memes.
Here are some of the funniest ones:
(Source)
(Source)
(Source)
(Source)
(Source)
Can think of better memes? Send it forward to [email protected] and you will be featured in our next article.