The internet was taken by storm when Portugal’s soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo shared a cryptic post featuring him training with Al Nassr on his Instagram account after Argentine’s Lionel Messi was honoured with the Fifa Best Men’s Player of the Year 2023 award.

It is pertinent to mention here that Messi won the award for a record third time, narrowly beating Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, with Kylian Mbappe finishing third.

During Fifa’s voting process, Messi and Haaland were tied with 48 points each, however, Messi emerged as the winner due to receiving more votes from national team captains.

The decision was surprising for many as they were considering his ordinary performance between December 19, 2022, and August 20, 2023 — the period considered for the award.

During the same period, Haaland’s position was reportedly strong with 30 goals and securing a historic treble with Manchester City.

Reacting to Ronaldo’s post, netizens remarks suggested that Ronaldo was a more deserving candidate for the Fifa best player award.

Ronaldo had an outstanding 2023 campaign, scoring 54 goals and providing 15 assists for Al Nassr and Portugal across all competitions, with an average of a goal per 96 minutes. “Back for more!,” Ronaldo captioned his post on Instagram.