“I want to say thank you to Messi” – Lionel Messi responsible for Cristiano Ronaldo’s stunning form, says popular YouTuber

Lionel Messi is responsible for Cristiano Ronaldo's recent blistering form with Al Nassr according to popular YouTuber MoreAA9Skillz. He believes the Argentine's incredible run in the USA has inspired his Portuguese rival to up his game.

Lionel Messi went on a rampage after leaving Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) for Inter Miami during the summer transfer window. The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner bagged 11 goals and three assists in his first 10 games for the Major League Soccer (MLS) outfit across competitions. He also led them to their first-ever trophy in the Leagues Cup in August.

Cristiano Ronaldo's response was a prolific run that resulted in him leading Al Nassr to the Arab Club Champions Cup. The Portuguese was the top scorer of the competition with six goals in as many games.

He has now raised his tally in 2023 to 43 goals and 10 assists, including two goals and one assist in his last game against Al-Duhail in the AFC Champions League.

Commenting on the 38-year-old's prolific form of late, popular YouTuber MoreAA9Skillz, who has over 537000 subscribers on the social media platform, claimed Lionel Messi was to thank.

“Thank you Messi. I want to say thank you to Messi because people don’t understand," the YouTuber said on his channel. "When Messi went crazy and won that US Cup, whatever it was with the MLS and he started scoring those goals, it woke Ronaldo back up.

“I’m telling y’all right now, Messi and Ronaldo needed each other this whole time and everyone thinks they don’t but Ronaldo was playing trash and then Messi went crazy in that MLS Cup when he first got to Miami and I swear since then, Ronaldo’s been on one."

“Cristiano Ronaldo was like, ‘hold on man, wait a minute. Hold on. This guy’s cooking like this, I can’t go out like this.’ Ronaldo feeds off of Messi, they feed off of each other,” he added.

Lionel Messi set to extend Ballon d'Or dominance over Cristiano Ronaldo

As per multiple sources, Lionel Messi will be the winner of the 2023 Ballon d'Or award. The Argentine is expected to beat Manchester City's Erling Haaland and PSG's Kylian Mbappe to the accolade after leading his nation to the World Cup last year.

Should he win the award as expected, it would be his eighth Ballon d'Or. This will put him three clear of Cristiano Ronaldo, who has five Ballons d'Or to his name. The Portuguese hasn't won the coveted prize since 2017.

The 2023 Ballon d'Or winner will be announced this Monday (October 30) during an award ceremony at the Theatre du Chatelet, in Paris, France.