'Who is this guy?!' - Cristiano Ronaldo issues savage response to former Sporting academy starlet's claim he could have competed with CR7 & Lionel Messi for the Ballon d'Or

Former Sporting CP academy graduate Paim recently said on a podcast hosted by PT Clipes that he deserves at least one of Ronaldo's five Ballon d'Or awards, and claimed that if he had even half of the Portuguese superstar's brain, he would be on par with him and Lionel Messi in terms of career achievements.

The words did not go down well with the 38-year-old Al-Nassr star, who posted a savage comment on the video posted on PT Clips Instagram page.

Ronaldo wrote: "Wtf. Who is this guy?"

@ptclipes/IG

Speaking on the podcast, Paim said: "Cristiano Ronaldo should offer me one of his Ballon d’Ors. I went to Sporting when I was seven years old, I grew up there. They were years of glory in which I won everything I could. I didn't reach where I could have reached, but I marked a generation. If people don't forget it's because I marked them.

"I said when I was happy that I thought Cristiano Ronaldo could offer me a Ballon d'Or. But it was with humility. If I had half of Cristiano's head, it wouldn't be him and Messi. It would be me, him and Messi and maybe he wouldn't have won the Ballon d'Or that he has. Maybe one of them was mine."

Paim, who played as a winger, has remained a journeyman throughout his career, playing for numerous clubs across several continents. The most memorable transfer of his career was his loan move to Chelsea under Luiz Felipe Scolari. While he did secure a temporary move, the winger never represented the Blues' senior side and only appeared in a few games for their reserve team.

The 35-year-old also represented Portugal at the youth level and retired from professional football in 2018.