Ballon d'Or 2023: Cristiano Ronaldo reacts to Instagram post mocking Lionel Messi winning his 8th award

Lionel Messi winning his record-extending 8th Ballon d'Or has divided the football world. While many say that La Pulga deserved the prize, the other half sees it as an injustice to Manchester City's Erling Haaland who had a great season in terms of goals and trophies.

Messi's long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo was also evidently unhappy with the decision as the 5-time Ballon d'Or winner was seen reacting with laughing emojis to a dismissive post about Messi by Tomas Roncero, the editor-in-chief of Spanish newspaper AS.

The opinion post was about how Messi should have won just 5 Ballon d'Or awards till now, with other deserving players like Robert Lewandowski, Xavi/Iniesta and now Erling Haaland, missing out due to the Argentine superstar.

Ronaldo's comment went viral on social media considering the 38-year-old's long-time rivalry with Lionel Messi and the fact that he wasn't even on the 30-man shortlist for the award.