Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo dominated football for well over a decade – and their families also joined in with the fierce rivalry.
The sporting world was lucky enough to witness two all-time greats battle it out in the same era. Between 2008 and 2023, the pair won 13 of the 15 Ballon d’Or awards up for grabs, with Messi clinching eight and Ronaldo earning five.
Ronaldo is two years older than Messi, and the Portuguese was subsequently the first of them to win the famous individual award during his time with Manchester United back in 2008, but Messi was not far behind. However, their rivalry truly crystallised when Ronaldo joined Real Madrid for a world-record fee the following year and was pitted in direct competition with Messi and Barcelona.
For nine years, La Liga hosted what felt like weekly battles between the two, as records were routinely broken. The greatest-of-all-time discussion continued after Ronaldo and Messi left Spain, and their families helped stoke the heated rivalry.
In December 2020, one of Ronaldo’s older sisters Elma Aveiro basked in Juventus’ 3-0 win over Messi’s Barcelona in the Champions League. Ronaldo scored twice from the penalty spot and his sister celebrated by posting a mocked-up graphic of Messi bowing down to her brother with the caption: “My king. Greatest of all time. Pride of my life.”
A year later, Messi’s father Jorge stuck up for his son in the wake of criticism over his seventh Ballon d’Or trophy. Ronaldo felt he was more deserving, while many others favoured Robert Lewandowski or Karim Benzema, but Messi Snr responded by writing, “Bla bla bla… carry on,” underneath a photo of his son with his latest accolade.
The extent of the rivalry was so far-reaching that Ronaldo’s other older sister Katia Aveiro dug out Messi even when her brother was not involved. In August 2022, after Messi scored an overheard kick for PSG, a Ronaldo fan detailed how the goal paled in comparison to Ronaldo’s iconic bicycle kick for Real Madrid against Juventus four years earlier. Katia liked the post and replied with a series of clapping emojis.
The Ballon d’Or debate drew more attention from Ronaldo’s family when Messi received his eighth gong in 2023. Having joined Al-Nassr the year before, Ronaldo was not nominated for the award. However, a Ronaldo fan page responded with a photo of the forward with his five trophies, captioned: “Earned not given.” This caught his sister Katia’s attention, who once again left clapping emojis in the comments section.
Despite the fervent discourse created by fans siding with either Messi or Ronaldo, both players believe their rivalry has ended. After winning the Ballon d’Or in 2023, Messi was asked about Ronaldo and told L’Equipe: “It was a great battle, from a sporting point of view.
“We fed off each other’s rivalry because we’re both great competitors. He, too, always wanted to win everything, all the time. It was a very enjoyable time for both of us and for everyone who loves football.”
With Messi playing for Inter Miami in MLS and Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia, the latter also concluded that it was over. “I don’t see things like that, the rivalry is gone,” Ronaldo said in 2023. “It was good, spectators liked it. Those who like Cristiano Ronaldo don’t have to hate Messi and vice versa.
“We’ve done well, we have changed the history of football. We are respected all over the world, that’s the most important thing.”
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