Ronaldo almost ‘retired’, mocked by the name Messi

After Cristiano Ronaldo repeatedly missed chances, Slovenian fans held up Lionel Messi’s shirt and chanted his name to taunt the Portuguese striker.

In the early morning of July 2 (Vietnam time), during the match between Portugal and Slovenia, in the round of 16 of Euro 2024, a Slovenian fan was seen at the Waldstadion in Frankfurt holding an Argentina shirt with Messi’s name and number 10. Many others continuously chanted the name of Ronaldo’s biggest rival every time the Portuguese striker missed a chance, which was becoming more and more frequent.

Ronaldo almost 'retired', mocked by the name Messi 491226Ronaldo was mocked by Slovenian fans because of the name Messi (Photo: Getty).
At his sixth Euros , the 39-year-old Ronaldo failed to score in the group stage of a major international tournament for the first time. His luck seemed to have changed as Portugal entered the knockout stages, with his shots, headers and free-kicks all flying wide or straight at goalkeeper Jan Oblak.

In the early morning of July 2 (Vietnam time), during the match between Portugal and Slovenia, in the round of 16 of Euro 2024, a Slovenian fan was seen at the Waldstadion in Frankfurt holding an Argentina shirt with Messi’s name and number 10. Many others continuously chanted the name of Ronaldo’s biggest rival every time the Portuguese striker missed a chance, which was becoming more and more frequent.

Ronaldo almost 'retired', mocked by the name Messi 491226Ronaldo was mocked by Slovenian fans because of the name Messi (Photo: Getty).
At his sixth Euros , the 39-year-old Ronaldo failed to score in the group stage of a major international tournament for the first time. His luck seemed to have changed as Portugal entered the knockout stages, with his shots, headers and free-kicks all flying wide or straight at goalkeeper Jan Oblak.

 

 

In the final seconds of the first period of extra time, Ronaldo stood to take a penalty after Diogo Jota was fouled. He had previously scored 13 consecutive penalties for Portugal, but this time Oblak saved the ball and pushed it against the post, leaving Ronaldo sad and in tears during the extra time break.

However, he finally had a victorious smile when he successfully scored in the penalty shootout, helping Portugal to advance.

This is not the first time Ronaldo has been taunted by fans chanting Messi’s name. The taunts have been going on for over a decade, notably at Euro 2012, Euro 2016 and Euro 2020 qualifiers. In early 2024, CR7 was even fined and banned by football authorities in Saudi Arabia when he responded to chants from Al-Shabab fans while playing for Al-Nassr.
Ronaldo almost 'retired', mocked by the name Messi 491227Ronaldo had a day to forget (Photo: Getty).
Ronaldo and Portugal continued their Euro 2024 journey, largely thanks to some fine saves from Diogo Costa, who saved three penalties and a one-on-one to deny Slovenia striker Benjamin Sesko in extra time. They are now through to the quarter-finals and will face Kylian Mbappe’s France in Hamburg on July 6 at 2:00 p.m. (GMT).