Ronaldo laughs off ‘Messi’ chants, but Al Ain have last laugh

Cristiano Ronaldo has heard this one plenty of times before.

And it happened again in Al Ain on Tuesday night.

Al Ain supporters began chanting “Messi, Messi” towards Ronaldo during the warmups ahead of their AFC Champions League Elite clash against Al Nassr at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium.

But the 41 year old did not appear bothered.

Ronaldo could be seen laughing at the chants before responding by clapping towards the supporters.

And the Al Ain fans were not finished there.

The Messi chants could be heard again at times during the match as the home supporters continued their attempts to get under the Al Nassr captain’s skin.

Mane was not impressed

Ronaldo may have laughed off the chants, but teammate Sadio Mané did not appear quite as amused.

The former Liverpool forward was visibly unhappy with the Al Ain supporters as they tried to provoke Ronaldo with chants of his great rival’s name.

It added another little bit of spice to an already difficult evening for Al Nassr.

Ronaldo has heard it here before

This is not exactly a new experience for Ronaldo in Al Ain.

In fact, he has experienced it in many away grounds.

When Al Nassr visited the same stadium for their AFC Champions League quarter final in March 2024, chants of Lionel Messi’s name also rang around Hazza bin Zayed Stadium as Al Ain supporters tried to unsettle the Portuguese star.

But while he may have enjoyed the exchange with the crowd, things have been much more difficult on the pitch.

Houssine Rahimi, the younger brother of Al Ain star Soufiane Rahimi, scored twice to put the hosts 2-0 ahead.

And then his older brother joined the party.

Soufiane scored Al Ain’s third to make it 3-0 after 75 minutes of play.

But Al Ain were not finished.

Minutes later, Giorgos Giakoumakis added a fourth as the hosts completed a stunning 4-0 victory over Al Nassr.

What a night for Al Ain.

And what a terrible evening for Ronaldo and co.

Ronaldo had laughed and applauded when the Al Ain supporters chanted “Messi” at him before the match.

By the final whistle, it was the Al Ain fans who had plenty to smile about.