Cristiano Ronaldo’s uncomplimentary nickname “Penaldo” has been trending online ever sincer Lionel Messi, 38, scored a hat-trick for Argentina during their match against Algeria in Kansas City, Missouri, USA, on June 16. It marked his first-ever hat-trick in a FIFA tournament and sixth World Cup appearance.
In the wake of the feat, Messi fans are mocking the Portuguese football icon by resurfacing the nickname.
It is a portmanteau of the words “penalty” and “Ronaldo,” with Messi fans often claiming CR7 scores most of his goals from the penalty box. It can be traced back to the time when he played for Real Madrid and the club had an arch-rivalry with FC Barcelona, for which Lionel played.
Now, here are some of the remarks circulating on X.
“Penaldo fans who were trolling Messi for the World Cup hat-trick. Bring you ass*s one by one,” a fan wrote.
“Hat-trick in a World Cup, joint-leading goalscorer in World Cup history. The audacity of Penaldo fans to compare him with GOAT Lionel Messi,” another fan commented.
“That’s how you finish the game. PENALDO learn something from #messi #argentina #fifa,” a netizen wrote.
Others continued to chime in.
“We all saw what the GOAT did for his country, let’s all watch and see what Penaldo can do for his own country #FIFAWorldCup,” another netizen wrote.
“Le Penaldo fans – But Messi doesn’t have a hat-trick in the World Cup. Cool, say that again, cutie,” a user wrote.
“Messi has scored more goals today, than Penaldo would score in this entire World Cup. Surely he’s in Ballon d’Or convo,” an individual commented.
Exploring further the nickname Penaldo amid 2026 FIFA World Cup
Between 2009 and 2018, Cristiano Ronaldo, now aged 41, played for Real Madrid and was one of the top scorers for the club. Likewise, Lionel Messi played for FC Barcelona from 2004 to 2021. Needless to say, both crossed paths several times when their clubs faced each other.
At the time, Messi fans coined the derogatory nickname claiming most of his goals for Real Madrid as a forward were penalty spot kicks and not “true” goals like the ones Lionel scored.
While the football icons moved on to different teams, with Cristiano Ronaldo now playing for Al-Nassr and Lionel Messi for Inter Miami, the latter’s fans have continued to use Penaldo, including now at the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Meanwhile, CR7 once said about the moniker:
“You have to look at the statistics. How many goals have I scored for Real Madrid? And they are not all penalties. I will score as many as I can – 600, 700, as many as I can. They will all be there for people to see. And anyone who wants to can go to YouTube to see all the goals I have scored…”
According to Goal.com’s February 2019 report, Ronaldo scored 450 goals in 438 matches for Real Madrid, out of which only 79 (out of 92 attempts) were penalties, which accounts for 17.38 per cent.
Meanwhile, Messi has scored 68 penalties out of 90 attempts for Barcelona.
During the 2024 Euro Cup, Ronaldo was representing his country and missed a crucial penalty against Slovenia. At the time, the nickname resurfaced thanks to the BBC’s caption “Missiano Penaldo.”
The following day, the BBC revealed receiving “complaints” from CR7’s fans about using the moniker during a global broadcast. It issued a clarification:
“BBC appreciates some viewers were unhappy with the graphic and the feedback has been passed on to the production team to help inform their work going forward. It was simply intended as a play on words and no offence was intended towards Cristiano Ronaldo.”
The British network also highlighted that their on-air experts, including Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker, both praised Ronaldo for his “courage and self-belief” to take the penalty, despite what the caption may have cited. It is noteworthy that the Portuguese missed the penalty and the match ended in a 0-0 draw.
Portugal faces the Democratic Republic of Congo at the ongoing FIFA World Cup on Wednesday.
Edited by Pallavi K