Lionel Messi has unfollowed Manchester United teenage star Alejandro Garnacho on Instagram because of Cristiano Ronaldo, according to former Red Devils defender Rio Ferdinand.
Messi is not a fan of the fact that Garnacho looks up to Ronaldo, as per Ferdinand. Garnacho and Ronaldo worked together briefly at Manchester United before the latter's departure to Saudi Arabia. The 19-year-old winger, who even wears Ronaldo-inspired Nike Vapor 15 Mercurial Dream Speed boots, has never hidden his admiration for the former Real Madrid superstar.
In April 2022, reports emerged about Messi unfollowing Garnacho on the social media platform, Instagram. Coincidently that happened when the teenage star posted a picture of Ronaldo alongside a message calling the Portuguese icon the greatest of all time.
Garnacho has previously referred to Messi as an "idol", but the World Cup-winning captain has still not followed him back despite the pair now being colleagues in the senior Argentina squad.
Ferdinand claimed that Garnacho told him about being unfollowed by Messi on Instagram while speaking on his YouTube Channel, "Vibe with Five".
"You know what I like about him? He doesn't give a f*ck. Garnacho told me that Messi unfollowed him just because he makes no secret of preferring Ronaldo. He comes out, don't care, 'I'm a Ronaldo man'. Who's the GOAT? Ronaldo. (Even) when he's in the Argentina squad," Ferdinand said.
On Sunday, Garnacho scored a Ronaldo-like goal for Manchester United in a Premier League game against Everton. The Argentina international's incredible bicycle kick left the Goodison Park crowd stunned as Manchester United secured a 3-0 win.
Collecting Diogo Dalot's cross, Garnacho jumped in the air and connected with a stunning overhead kick. Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford could barely get his hand on the ball as it smashed into the goal. The 19-year-old striker broke into a massive celebration near the corner flag, paying tribute to Ronaldo.
Garnacho pulled off Ronaldo's iconic "Siu" celebration and left the charged-up Everton crowd in silence. The marvellous strike of Garnacho earned comparisons to one of Ronaldo's greatest-ever goals, his overhead kick for Real Madrid against Juventus in April 2018 in the UEFA Champions League.
Ronaldo's goal was also in an away fixture in Turin and was very much appreciated by the Juventus fans.
Garnacho's strike, which was the opening goal in Sunday's game, was also compared to Wayne Rooney's speculative strike against Manchester City back in 2011.
Manchester United climbed to sixth place in the league table, following their latest win over the Toffees. Garnacho has netted two goals in 17 matches in all competitions for the Old Trafford side in the ongoing campaign.
