Top 5 instances when superstars got nutmegged

Nutmeg can be defined as a technique or rather an art of rolling the ball through a player’s legs. The origin of the word has been a big debate in the past as nutmeg is also a multi – purpose spice loved by the English. England imports a large amount of nutmegs from the Caribbean Islands.According to Peter Seddon, the author of the book: ‘Football Talk - The Language and Folklore of the World's Greatest Game,’ the unscrupulous workers often duped the sacks of nutmeg with wooden replicas, hence tricking the consumers. So the term nutmegged means getting tricked by the trickster. Here, the consumer is tricked by the dishonest workers and in the game of football; the player who is tricked by the onrushing player by allowing the latter to put the ball through his legs is just getting ‘nutmegged.’Another theory suggests that the word nutmeg arises from the slang for testicles - nuts i.e., putting the ball through a player’s ‘nuts’ (in between the legs) is nothing but nutmegging, according to this postulate. Well, first of all to begin with, nutmeg is an English term and this technique is known by many terms all over the world like tunnel in Germany, petit pont in France etc.Nutmegging a player is often used to get past a player or to score or to pass the ball. Many players have been nutmegged in the past, even the greats! After all, they are humans at the end of the day. It is great fun to watch a player getting nutmegged, but nobody wishes to be on the receiving end. Here are some of the best in the world getting nutmegged:

#1 Cristiano Ronaldo

The first thing that comes to the mind of a Real Madrid or Barcelona fan when asked about nutmegs is definitely Cristiano Ronaldo getting nutmegged!

The three-time Ballon d’Or winner has humiliated many defenders in the past but was humbled by Dani Alves in the first El Clasico encounter of 2013–14 season. The internet entertainment world had a huge field day and made numerous memes of Cristiano Ronaldo getting nutmegged.

#2 Lionel Messi

Who else can keep up with Ronaldo other than Lionel Messi in making the headlines? It is hard to separate these two when it comes to performances on the field, and it isn’t very different in this scenario either.

Lionel Messi is known for his skill and deft touches; a whole dance form has been founded, based on his playing style, in Barcelona but on the other side, Lionel Messi is left like a tattered piece of cloth by Croatian midfielder, Milan Badelj in the International friendly against Croatia in 2014.

He (Milan Badelj) will be telling this to his grandchildren for ages to come!

#3 Ricardo Kaka

‘If you hate Kaka then go consult a doctor’ is a usual phrase in the footballing world. Kaka is the only player ever to have beaten Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to the Ballon d'Or in 2007.

In this clip, Kaka is nutmegged by Internacional striker, Rafael Moura in a Campeonato Brasileiro clash between Sao Paolo and Internacional in Porto Alegre. And what Kaka does after he is humiliated shows why you simply cannot hate him no matter what.

#4 Zlatan Ibrahimovic

After Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi and Kaka, now it is the Paris Saint Germain striker’s turn.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic was nutmegged audaciously by Lille defender Aurelien Chedjou, in front of his home crowd in Parc des Princes. The bossy striker was lost for words and could do nothing apart from a wide grin, showing his approval.

#5 Wayne Rooney

The honour of welcoming the English captain to Burnley was done by Burnley’s defender, Keiran Trippier. The defender nutmegged Rooney but was seen tripping after nutmegging the English captain, English motherland’s punishment maybe?

But still Rooney could not scathe away from the embarrassment.