Cristiano Ronaldo’s sister Katia Aveiro reacted to the post claiming his Ballon d’Ors were ‘earned, not given’ after Lionel Messi’s 8th award win:
Katia Aveiro, the sister of Cristiano Ronaldo, has once again defended her brother and taken a swipe at Lionel Messi after the Argentine won his eighth Ballon d’Or award.
In a recent social media post, Aveiro commented with five applause emojis on an image of Ronaldo posing with his many individual awards, including his five Ballons d’Or. The post was captioned “Earned, not given”, in an apparent dig at Messi, who has been criticized by some for winning the Ballon d’Or over other more deserving players in recent years.
Ronaldo’s sister, Katia Aveiro, takes a sly dig at Lionel Messi’s 8️⃣th Ballon d’Or with a comment on an Instagram post. #CristianoRonaldo #BallondOr #GOAT pic.twitter.com/YobjlQhEm9
— Sportskeeda Football (@skworldfootball) November 2, 2023
This is not the first time that Aveiro has entered the ongoing Ronaldo-Messi debate. In 2022, she branded the World Cup as “the worst ever” after Ronaldo was benched during Portugal’s matches in the tournament. She also implored Ronaldo to depart from the World Cup and return to a place where he was met with “gratitude instead of ingratitude.”
Aveiro’s latest comments come at a time when Ronaldo is facing increasing scrutiny over his performances. The 38-year-old has struggled to find his form since joining Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr in January 2023, scoring just three goals in his first 10 appearances.
In contrast, Messi has continued to excel at Paris Saint-Germain. The 36-year-old scored 11 goals and provided 15 assists in all competitions last season, helping PSG to win the Ligue 1 title.
It is unclear what Aveiro’s real intentions are with her latest comments. It is possible that she is simply being supportive of her brother, or that she is trying to stir up controversy. Whatever the case may be, her comments are sure to add fuel to the fire in the ongoing Ronaldo-Messi debate.
