Ronaldo beats Messi in race to recapture hearts of Chinese fans with Lunar New Year video message
- Cristiano Ronaldo addresses fans in Chinese and gets Al Nassr teammates involved in another PR win
- Portuguese forward held press conference when injury forced January games to be cancelled, while Messi left Hong Kong without saying a word
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi used to compete for Ballon d’Or trophies, La Liga titles, Champions League medals and the rest of football’s top accolades.
But now, the two greatest players of their generation have found a new battleground, and there is no doubt who is surging ahead in the race for the affections of Chinese fans.
While Messi is still reeling from the anger created by his non-appearance in an exhibition game in Hong Kong, Ronaldo has posted a video on the Chinese social media platform Weibo wishing fans a happy Lunar New Year alongside his Al Nassr teammates.
Ronaldo opened the 30-second clip by saying “Ni hao China. Are you ready?” before other players, including former Inter Milan player Marcelo Brozovic, extended various Lunar New Year greetings in English and Chinese.
Two hashtags related to the video have been viewed by delighted mainland Chinese fans more than 35 million times, causing users to joke that Ronaldo now dominates the market and has a superior moral character than Messi.
“There are many stars in the world, but Messi is nothing. Cristiano Ronaldo leads the team in sending New Year greetings to Chinese fans and friends! Friendship is a two-way street. Ronaldo is friendly to China,” one comment read.
“This year’s New Year greeting may make [Ronaldo] more popular and we all understand that they come to China to make money, but at the very least, their attitude must be respectful,” another user said, referring to Messi’s trip to Hong Kong.
However, some Weibo users questioned the timing of the social media post.
“Messi has been deeply involved in the vortex of public opinion and has dominated the trending searches for several days. At this time, Cristiano Ronaldo suddenly became a trending topic with New Year greetings,” a user said.
05:29
How Lionel Messi’s Hong Kong visit went from cheers to jeers and anger
Ronaldo has his own reasons for trying to keep Chinese fans happy. In January, he angered supporters on the mainland when a calf injury led to his Saudi Arabia club side cancelling two friendly matches scheduled to take place in Shenzhen, just 24 hours before the first was expected to start.
However, in contrast to Messi’s behaviour in Hong Kong, Ronaldo personally addressed fans and they were offered a full refund without having to ask for one.
On Friday, Tatler Asia, who brought Inter Miami to Hong Kong for the exhibition match, announced that fans who bought tickets for the game would be entitled to a 50 per cent refund.
