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Cristiano Ronaldo seemed rather hurt that he was excluded from the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) list of top 10 soccer players in the world as he replied loudly without using any words.
The Al-Nassr striker commented on the publication of the Portuguese media outlet 'A Bola', in which the ranking of the best players, according to the IFFHS, was released and although he did not use specific words, it is easy to understand that he was not happy with the results from the sarcastic laughing emojis he posted.
There is speculation that he may have been left out because he does not play in one of the best leagues, although Messi was included despite playing in the MLS. It is important to clarify that the U.S. league is three places above the Saudi Pro League in the list of best soccer leagues.
However, on the other hand, Messi did spent a sizeable portion of 2023 with Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1 of France. PSG's league was ranked fifth as of December 31, 2022.
Top 10 players according to IFFHS
Ronaldo closed 2023 as top scorer (in the calendar year), with 53 goals scored and 15 assists for Al-Nassr and Portugal, and he can still extend the streak on December 30 when the Riyadh-based side visits Al Taawon.
But he wasn't even ranked as the highest Portuguese player, as that title went to Manchester City's Bernardo Silva who operates on the right wing and in central midfield.
The top 3 is made up of Erling Haaland (Manchester City), Kylian Mbappe (PSG) and Messi (PSG/Inter Miami). The Frenchman retained the same position as last year, while Messi dropped two positions and the Norwegian striker climbed from fifth to first.
The other seven players in the ranking did not appear last year: Rodri (Manchester City), Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund/Real Madrid), Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City), Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur/Bayern Munich), Silva (Manchester City), Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid) and Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan).