"This is the weirdest version", "He's trying to be Messi" - Fans have mixed reaction as AI-generated image of Cristiano Ronaldo with beard goes viral

An AI-generated image of Cristiano Ronaldo with a beard recently has surfaced on social media, and owing to the Portuguese icon's popularity, it has gone viral.

Fans have flooded social media with posts resharing the photo and expressing their different opinions of appreciation and criticism. Here is a collection of their posts on X (formerly Twitter):

One fan wrote:

"This is the weirdest version of Cristiano Ronaldo."

Another added:

"This will look good on him honestly."

"I wanna know who advise the goat not to train beard? He looks fine asf," chimed in another fan.

Referring to the rivalry between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, which has been going on for about 15 years now, one user said:

"He’s trying to be Messi."

One account posted:

"I’m not psychologically ready to welcome this version of Ronaldo."

"This can’t be real," said another.

While another wrote:

"He’d look so cool if he had beards."

The former Real Madrid star's online popularity has always topped the charts. He is the most-followed individual, sportsperson, footballer, Portuguese, and European on Instagram, with over 628 million followers. Ronaldo is also the most-followed sports personality on X, with 111 million followers.

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Cristiano Ronaldo scored 65th career hat-trick earlier this month

On April 2, 2024, Cristiano Ronaldo netted his 65th career hat-trick in Al-Nassr's fixture against Abha Club in the Saudi Pro League. This came after he had just scored his 64th one just three days before, on March 30, 2024, against Al-Tai FC.

The Portugal national football team captain joined Al-Nassr in 2023 and has already scored four hat-tricks in the Saudi Pro League.

Al-Nassr are currently standing second in the Saudi Pro League with 68 points in 28 matches. They have won all five of their last league fixtures and are nine points behind table-toppers, Al Hilal.