Barcelona Star Picks Cristiano Ronaldo As His Icon, Snubs Lionel Messi

• Ferran Torres claims Cristiano Ronaldo deserves far more credit
• He picked the Al-Nassr skipper as his icon ahead of Lionel Messi
• Ronaldo and Messi have won 13 Ballon d’Or titles between them

Ferran Torres risks earning the wrath of Barcelona fans worldwide after naming Cristiano Ronaldo as his icon ahead of club legend and Argentina superstar, Lionel Messi.

Ronaldo, a long-term rival of Messi, played for Real Madrid between 2008 and 2018, becoming the club’s all-time goal-scorer with 450 goals, having played only 438 matches during his time in Spain.

According to Sportskeeda, Torres claims Ronaldo deserves much credit for competing with Messi for the Ballon d'Or over the years and named him his idol due to his determination to compete.

"But I also have to tell you that for me, Cristiano is a leader, an idol, because to compete and take the Ballon d'Or away from the best player in history, that has an incredible merit."

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Ronaldo has won five Ballon d’Or awards and is regarded by many supporters and footballers as the greatest footballer of all time ahead of long-time nemesis, Messi.

Cristiano Ronaldo faces $1bil lawsuit

Meanwhile, Ronaldo is in hot water currently after the Al-Nassr forward had a class action lawsuit filed against him in the United States over his promotion of Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, the BBC reports.

The plaintiffs claim the five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s endorsement of the cryptocurrency company led them to make loss-making investments and are now seeking damages of a sum exceeding $1 billion.

Binance released its first 'CR7' collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in cooperation with Ronaldo in November 2022, which the footballer stated would reward fans for their years of loyalty.

Ronaldo hurt during AFC CL game

Sports Brief previously reported on Alireza Beiranvand conveyed a thoughtful message to Cristiano Ronaldo after their collision on Monday during the clash between Persepolis and Al-Nassr.

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The Iranian goalkeeper and the Portuguese veteran forward found themselves in a literal face-to-face encounter during the penultimate round of group games in the AFC Champions League.

Ronaldo, having scored in three consecutive games in the Asian continental tournament, aimed to extend his scoring form and aid the Knights of Najd in maintaining their flawless tourney record.