‘I have a lot of money!’ - Why Ronaldo is so angry with Cassano

FT Desk

5 Dec 2021 18:02 GMT
4 min read

Cristiano Ronaldo sent Antonio Cassano a number of angry WhatsApp messages after feeling he had been disrespected by the former Italy international.

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Cassano revealed this week on Christian Vieri’s Twitch channel, BoboTV, that he had received some enraged texts from Cristiano.

The reason for this was because Cassano had been criticising Ronaldo saying, among other things, that Lionel Messi was a superior player.

What did Cassano originally say about Ronaldo?

Cassano has been a regular critic of Ronaldo, particularly after he moved to Juventus from Real Madrid in the summer of 2018.

In April 2020, he remarked that “there is only one Ronaldo, the Brazilian one”, referring to the former Brazil, Inter and Real Madrid superstar.

In March 2021, Cassano blasted Ronaldo’s inability to improve Juventus’ fortunes in the Champions League after they won just one knockout tie in his three seasons at the club.

"Juventus signed him to win the Champions League, but they've done worse with him than they've done before," Cassano told Corriere dello Sport.

"They'd also won the Scudetto [Serie A title] without him. I think he's been a failure."

In October 2021, Cassano stated that Ronaldo is “not even among the top five players in history.”

“I would put Messi, Diego Maradona, Pelé, Johan Crujff. And then I’ll put Ronaldo, ‘Il Fenomeno’. Period.

“If we have to free someone, then Marco van Basten, as I don’t know Alfredo Di Stefano. Let’s not exaggerate.

What did Ronaldo say to Cassano on WhatsApp?

These repeated barbs by Cassano allegedly infuriated Ronaldo, who contacted his former Juventus teammate Gianluigi Buffon in order to obtain the ex-Italy attacker’s phone number.

“Cristiano wrote to me on WhatsApp asking for more respect after everything he’s won, all the goals he’s scored and for what he represents,” Cassano explained.

“I’m not afraid to tell the truth, I’ll face the whole world, from the Pope to the last person on earth. I told Cristiano Ronaldo that it’s not disrespect to say that only one Ronaldo exists and it’s the Fenomeno, and that Messi is much better than him. That’s not disrespect.

🎙Antonio Cassano: "Ronaldo wrote to me, telling me to have more respect, for what he had won. He told me that he scored 750 goals and I only scored 150. I say, dear Cristiano, you have everything, live calm and relaxed. Take an example from Messi, he doesn't give a damn." [CDS] pic.twitter.com/BBDL1OM1NT
— RouteOneFootball (@Route1futbol) December 4, 2021

“I was telling the truth, facts, that Messi is much better than him and there’s only one Ronaldo. I called Gigi Buffon and asked him if he had given my number to someone. He confirmed that he gave my number to the press officer [at Juventus] and he gave it to Cristiano.

“Ronaldo sent me messages saying: ‘I have a lot of money, I’ve scored more than 750 goals – you’ve only scored 150 in your entire career.’ I said what I think and it’s just a personal opinion.

“I thought about why a person does something like that. Cristiano Ronaldo has everything, he should live serene, calm and relaxed instead of listening to what people say about him. He should follow Lionel Messi’s example – he’s a person who doesn’t give a damn what the world thinks.”

Cassano scored 140 goals during his career, representing the likes of Roma, Real Madrid, Inter, Milan, Sampdoria and the Italy national team.