Cristiano Ronaldo, a former Manchester United star, left the World Cup after Portugal lost to Morocco in the quarterfinals. However, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner still cares about the outcome of the competition on Sunday in Qatar. The 2022 World Cup final between Argentina and France is planned to take place in the Lusail Stadium, with both teams vying for victory.

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Due to his relationship with Argentina captain Lionel Messi, it makes sense that the renowned Real Madrid attacker would back France. But according to Spanish publication Marca, Ronaldo might support Argentina to win the World Cup this year because of his partner, Georgina Rodriguez.

“My girlfriend is Argentinian. Many people don’t know that she is half Argentine and half Spanish. I love Argentina, a lot of people think I don’t, but I like Argentina a lot,” he explained, Marca reported.

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Abdou Diallo, a former defender for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), on the other hand, asserted that Kylian Mbappe has a clear winner between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

Diallo, who is currently on loan from PSG to RB Leipzig, claimed that Mbappe is completely fixated on Ronaldo. The Senegalese defender further stated that Mbappe could debate the merits of his idol over Messi for at least an hour.

According to Diallo, as cited by The Daily Mail, “Cristiano Ronaldo is literally everything to Kylian Mbappe. If you mention Lionel Messi against Cristiano, Mbappe will debate with you for at least an hour. For him, Cristiano is untouchable.”

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As a restless kid growing up in the Bondy banlieue, where a mural of the French flag with the phrase “a place of possibilities” blares, the galacticos were the band that most captured his imagination. In his comic book autobiography Je M’Appelle, Kylian depicts Zinedine Zidane and Cristiano Ronaldo as dream visitors who present him with a glittering white Real Madrid uniform.

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Most people agree that Ronaldo and Messi are two of the greatest players in history. The question of which of the two football greats is superior to the other has long been a topic of contention, and practically everyone has a justification for choosing one over the other. The fans cannot stop from pitting them against one another. Social media saw a flurry of Ronaldo backers rooting for France in the final, and an equal number of trolls for the same.

The winning football team’s national federation will get $42 million in prize money. From a $440 million prize pool set aside by FIFA, the losing team in the final between France and Argentina on Sunday will receive $30 million. The country’s federation received $38 million from FIFA’s $400 million prize pool when France won the World Cup in 2018.

The World Cup will take place in the middle of the 2022–23 season, making it a unique Ballon d’Or that might be forgotten by the time voting takes place in about 10 months. Both Mbappe and Messi are top contenders for the honour this season.