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Topics: Portugal, Cristiano Ronaldo, Argentina, Paulo Dybala, Lionel Messi, Football
Marcus Chan
Topics: Portugal, Cristiano Ronaldo, Argentina, Paulo Dybala, Lionel Messi, Football
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo was once told that he is hated in Argentina, and his response sums him up perfectly.
Throughout his illustrious career, Ronaldo has been involved in a long-term rivalry with the darling of Argentina, Lionel Messi.
Both players have been battling it out to be the greatest of all time, and the pair arrived in Qatar searching for the elusive World Cup trophy.
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However, Ronaldo’s dream ended in tatters as Portugal were dumped out by Morocco in the quarter-finals. Whilst Messi is one step away from the holy grail of football as he prepares to take on France in Sunday’s final.
Portugal’s elimination will for sure put a smile on the faces of many Argentinians as they are desperate for Messi to settle the GOAT debate by winning the World Cup.
Paulo Dybala, who played with Ronaldo at Juventus once brutally told the Portuguese that he is hated in Argentina. However, Ronaldo’s response summed up his immense self-confidence.
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Dybala said to the Argentine national team website in 2020: “On a personal level, I was surprised for good because I did not know him, none of us knew anything about him. Even in the previous Champions League, we were knocked out against Real Madrid and there had been many crosses.
“But then we found something else, he is an excellent guy, very sociable and friendly inside and outside the locker room. Always ready to talk, to listen, which surprised me, being an important figure, they are not always like that.
“Once I sat down to talk to him, we were travelling. I said 'look, if I'm honest, we in Argentina hate you a bit, because of your personality, your way of being, then you really surprised me because I found something else'.
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“He laughed because he said 'I know that's the way it is, but I know how I am, I'm used to being criticised for that’.”
After the conclusion of his World Cup campaign, Ronaldo is now tasked with searching for a new club.
The 37-year-old mutually agreed with Manchester United to rip up his contract after his bombshell interview with Piers Morgan last month.