Cristiano Ronaldo’s Instagram account has been caught ‘liking’ an eyebrow-raising post about Argentina and Lionel Messi.

Argentina were beaten by Spain in Sunday’s World Cup final at the New York New Jersey Stadium after Ferran Torres scored the game’s only goal in extra-time.

Messi, who’d scored eight goals and provided four assists prior to the final, was unable to make an impact against Luis de la Fuente’s side. The 39-year-old was subsequently beaten to the Golden Boot and Golden Ball awards by Kylian Mbappe and Rodri, respectively.

Argentina, champions in 2022, have received heavy criticism throughout the tournament.

Conspiracy theories suggesting Argentina were benefitting from favourable refereeing decisions became widespread on social media, while the behaviour of Lionel Scaloni’s players after their World Cup final defeat has been lambasted by fans and pundits alike.

FIFA have opened an investigation and may take action against Argentina’s players and coaching staff who were involved in the post-match altercations that marred Sunday’s final.

Ronaldo’s Instagram Account ‘Likes’ Controversial Post

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters/Maria Lysaker

Per GOAL, Ronaldo’s verified Instagram account with 677 million followers appeared to like a video post that accused FIFA of corruption in order to help Argentina reach the 2026 World Cup final.

The post features ‘scathing criticism’ from Spanish journalist Pilar Rodriguez Losantos regarding alleged refereeing bias displayed towards the South American nation throughout the showpiece international tournament in North America.

On the video, uploaded prior to the final, Losantos states: “Argentina should have been eliminated at least five matches ago! They are only still in the tournament thanks to help from FIFA, which is one of the most corrupt institutions on planet earth!

“So, I’m not afraid of Argentina at all; I’m more afraid of Gianni Infantino. I think we’re not going to play against Argentina, but against the whole of FIFA, who want to hand the World Cup to Lionel Messi!”

‘Rigged’ Accusations Categorically Denied

REUTERS/Hannah Mckay

Pierluigi Collina, FIFA’s Chief Refereeing Officer, released a statement categorically denying any suggestions that the tournament was ‘rigged’ in favour of Argentina following accusations from Egypt’s players and coaching staff in the last 16.

“Of course, constructive discussion about decisions will always be part of football, but unfounded allegations have no place in our sport.” Collina said, after French referee Francois Letexier’s integrity was called into question. “Nobody can question the integrity of the FIFA World Cup match officials. When this happens, it may provoke reactions that lead to threats against them and their families. This is not right.”

Meanwhile, former FIFA referee and ex-PMGOL chief Keith Hackett said: “One area that I would dispute very strongly are claims that games are being fixed at World Cup level or any level of the game.

“There are sufficient checks and balances in place, and a filtering system to ensure that this does not happen.

“The laws of the game are subjective. I can get 100 referees in a room looking at a potential incident and not necessarily getting 100 referees to agree with the outcome. That’s the game of football. Those are the laws of the game.”

It was set to potentially be the great farewell for Lionel Messi, but Argentina failed to deliver much against Spain in the World Cup final. The 39-year-old ended up having just one shot in the match, which came in the 117th minute.

Indeed, it was a subdued performance from Lionel Scaloni’s men, with Spain deserving winners – even if it took until the 106th minute before Ferran Torres finally broke the deadlock. Argentina have widely been criticised for their performance, as they displayed more than a few moments of poor sportsmanship on the day.

Among those to take issue with the Argentine behaviour, TV personality Piers Morgan has blasted Messi over one particular incident.

Piers Morgan Blasts Lionel Messi vs Spain

Reuters/ Mike Segar

With his team down to 10 men and struggling to get control of the game, Messi desperately attempted to get Marc Cucurella sent off. He appeared to try to ask the referee to hand the Spanish defender a red card, after spotting Cucurella cover his mouth – which is now considered to be a red card offence following the introduction of a new rule by FIFA.

The Inter Miami star was widely criticised by fans online for his actions, and Morgan has now added to the backlash. Speaking on his Sports Uncensored YouTube show, the English host said:

Why Cucurella Wasn’t Punished As John Terry Weighs In on Debate

Although many didn’t like Messi’s actions, with both Miguel Almiron and Piero Hincapie sent off earlier in the tournament for covering their mouths, Cucurella may have been lucky to avoid punishment. However, ex-Premier League referee Mark Halsey explained why he was not dismissed, stating:

“We know it’s not a red card if you’re not being aggressive towards an opponent. So that is poor from Messi.”

In response to Morgan’s criticism, John Terry then insisted that Messi is still the greatest player of all time, but added that: “It tells you the mindset of the Argentinian players. Enzo [Fernandez] and Marc Cucurella are very very good friends at Chelsea, and he was also trying to get his mate sent off in the final.

Also, you never see Messi do that, so it goes to show their mindset. They needed to get Cucurella sent off, they were way outclassed all over the pitch. Spain were the better side.”

When UFC Freedom 250 was announced, there was a feeling of shock, amazement, and disbelief around the world. A flagship cage fighting event on the lawn of the White House was sure to set tongues wagging, and it definitely lived up to that promise.

It was advertised with a bold claim heralding it as ‘the most historic sporting event of all time.’ Paramount+ exclusively broadcast the event and reported an average of 8.2 million viewers, at least 17 million unique viewers in the United States and Latin America, and 34 million viewers worldwide.

These figures made it the most-watched exclusive live event on Paramount+ to-date and one of the most-watched mixed martial arts events of all time.

Justin Gaethje Battered Ilia Topuria at UFC Freedom 250

Amber Searls via Imagn Images

One of the fights which garnered much attention was the bout for the UFC lightweight championship between the defending champion Ilia Topuria and the interim champion Justin Gaethje.

Topuria lost the bout at the end of the fourth round, losing by technical knockout via corner stoppage. This meant that he lost the championship and also experienced his first loss in his MMA career.

The Spanish-Georgian fighter couldn’t get up off his stool to contend the final three minutes and had to be assisted by members of his team and family to leave the Octagon. El Matador suffered orbital bone fractures and a broken nose in the clash, claiming Gaethje had ‘taken the sight’ from both of his eyes before going to hospital to recuperate.

The 29-year-old has already called out his rival for a rematch to reclaim his title after his recovery, but this wasn’t the only storyline to come from the night.

Paddy Pimblett Enjoying Ilia Topuria’s Downfall

Mark J. Rebilas via Imagn Images

Fellow UFC fighter Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett ridiculed Topuria for failing to get up and fight in the fifth round despite losing to the 38-year-old himself by unanimous decision in January. However, the Brit clearly sees his loss as more respectable, saying: “The only thing you had to do was beat a 38-year-old coming off a five-round war with me. Instead, you quit on your stool like the little b**** you are.

The Englishman has now gone a step further with his stool obsession, further mocking the Alicante-based fighter by claiming to have bought the stool that Topuria was propping himself up on at an auction.

The 31-year-old uploaded a picture of himself on Instagram, holding a red UFC stool just like the one Topuria used, with the caption: “Collectors’ item.”

The UFC did list the used stool in an auction, and it sold for $13,700 (£10,195) with the listing proclaiming it as the chance to own “a genuine piece of history.”

However, in recent days, it has been revealed that the Liverpudlian was not the lucky auction winner and the real buyer has come forward to expose Pimblett‘s lie.

Pimblett’s Stool Story Exposed as a Lie

In a video uploaded to Instagram, a woman called Jessica said: “I am actually the one who bought the Ilia [Topuria] red stool from Freedom 250.”

In the video, Jessica showed an email from UFC Collectibles informing her the stool had been shipped and went to the Shop app, where she had purchased it from with confirmation.

When displaying the Shop app, she declared: “I cannot forge this, AI this. This is the app of the shop where the purchase was made.”

With what appears to be buyer protection added to the order as well as the stool itself, the total bill came to a whopping $18,272.48, which can be seen at the bottom of the receipt.

Finally, she went to the UFC website to show that it was also displaying her purchase.

She ended the video with a clear statement that showed her intentions: “It was me, I bought it, not Paddy [Pimblett], not anybody else. Big Ilia fan and I kind of purchased it on purpose so that Paddy and nobody else could actually buy it and use it against him, but here we are.”

Credit: Zuffa LLC

With multiple proofs of purchase, it seems certain that Jessica is telling the truth and Pimblett faked the story to further mock and provoke Topuria. It’s likely that Pimblett didn’t expect his taunt to be disproven by someone who had made the insane purchase themselves.

While Topuria clearly desires a rematch with Gaethje when he’s fit enough to return to the cage, perhaps Pimblett’s goading will return to haunt him someday if he finds himself at the Spaniard’s mercy in the opposite corner.