FIFA World Cup 2018: Cristiano Ronaldo – Lionel Messi debate ends in divorce for Russia couple

A couple from Russia has added a new dimension to the timeless Messi-Ronaldo debate. According to reports, the football-enthusiast couple got into a heated argument over who is the better player between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi during the Argentina’s World Cup clash with Nigeria which ended up in them filing for divorce.

The husband, Arsen – an ardent supporter of Argentina skipper Lionel Messi – left the house and filed for a divorce in the courts of city of Chelyabinsk in the Urals following a fight with his wife, Lyudmila—a keen admirer of Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo.

The story, as it played out

After a sublime finish from Messi that gave the Argentine side a 1-0 lead over Nigeria in the group D encounter, Lyudmila started ridiculing the Argentine forward and asserted Ronaldo’s superiority as the Barcelona star had previously missed a penalty against Iceland.

Arsen too mocked Ronaldo for missing a penalty against Morocco in another group match. As the situation worsened, he decided to put an end to the 16-year-old relationship that began back in 2002.

Arsen reportedly said: “Since the beginning of the World Cup, she mocked Messi and said he couldn’t even score a penalty against Iceland.

“I could not contain myself and I told her what I thought about the vain Ronaldo, the Portuguese national team and all the clubs she likes.

“Then I took my belongings and left her forever.”

Ronaldo followed Messi out of the World Cup as Portugal lost their Round of 16 game to Uruguay after France eliminated Argentina in the same round. Ronaldo scored four goals in the tournament before Portugal’s ouster whereas Messi found the back of the net only once in the entire campaign.

There have been worse instances regarding the inane debate that, at times, ruins the beauty of the game. One such incident took place back in March 2016 when a Nigerian man killed his friend and compatriot in India over Messi versus Cristiano row.