Ronaldo’s side faced Al-Hilal in a top of the table Saudi Pro League clash but were humbled after conceding three in the second half. The Portuguese legend had a goal controversially ruled out for offside by VAR – and his torrid evening was made even worse by constant trolling from Al-Hilal fans.

As Ronaldo walked towards the tunnel of the King Fahd International Stadium with the score 0-0 at half time, he was met with a chorus of Messi chants. Having lost his cool when the same thing occurred in October, the 38-year-old, at least on the surface, played it down on this occasion.

The former Real Madrid and Manchester United forward instead blew kisses to the stands while forcing a grin. And fans on social media thought Al-Hilal supporters succeeded in getting under Ronaldo’s skin, with Messi putting an end to the ‘greatest of all time’ debate by recently cruising to an eighth Ballon d’Or win and lifting the World Cup last year.

One X user pointed out: “He’s rattled,” while another tweeted: “He thinks we can’t see the pain behind the smile.”

Ronaldo cut a frustrated figure as his side were beaten (Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)

A third wrote: “Brother we know you’re in pain,” and a fourth added: “He was about to cry.”

Others chimed in by commenting: “Shame it’s ending this way,” and: “Bro must be burning inside.”

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have been rivals for 15 years (Image: AFP/Getty Images)

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic opened the scoring with a header an hour into the affair, before his Serbia team-mate Aleksandr Mitrovic netted a brace, taking Al-Hilal seven points clear of Al-Nassr.

Meanwhile, Al-Hilal’s pro-Messi chanting came despite the Argentine turning down a £1.3billion offer to join them in the summer. Instead, the 36-year-old opted to sign for MLS side Inter Miami, where he has already provided a catalogue of magical moments.