Cristiano Ronaldo's tribute to Lionel Messi is a nice piece of writing. It's also image management, and the calendar is what gives it away.
On October 7, a day after Messi confirmed his definitive farewell from the Argentina national team, Ronaldo left a comment under Messi's Instagram post: "Leo, so many years defending your country and a story that will remain forever. All my respect for what you have achieved with Argentina. A hug." It raced to 10,000 likes inside ten minutes. Warm and perfectly pitched. On its own, you'd read it and smile.
Then you remember what Ronaldo spent the week before doing. He was cleaning up after himself. On October 1 he walked out of Portugal's camp in Denmark after being left an unused substitute against Norway. By October 6, a day before the Messi comment, he'd put out an apology: "I owe an apology to my national team teammates for having left the camp... I shouldn't have done it. The responsibility is mine alone." In the same breath he insisted he deserved to be punished and accused coach Jorge Jesus of twice breaking his word. So far, Portugal's federation hasn't announced any sanction.
Ronaldo abandoned his own country over a grudge, grovels his way back into the conversation, then within 24 hours reappears as the elder statesman of the sport saluting Messi for his loyalty. The praise he aimed at Messi is the exact quality he'd just failed to show his own teammates. He honored two decades of showing up for one shirt the same weekend he couldn't manage two matches on the bench for his own.
The respect between these two is probably real. Ronaldo has said warm things about Messi for years, including the story about translating English for him at the galas: "I remember I used to translate English for him at the galas because he didn't speak it well. He always treated me well and respected me." When Messi's father died in August, Ronaldo's message of condolence became the most-liked comment on Instagram at that point. That's real. The two of them never carried the venom their fanbases did.
Which is exactly why this one grates. A genuine relationship is the most useful thing you can have when you need good press, because nobody questions it. And Ronaldo has questions to answer. Days before Argentina's World Cup final loss to Spain in July, his account liked a post accusing FIFA of corruption and claiming officials wanted to hand the trophy to Messi. A like proves nothing on its own, and he never explained it. But you don't get to spend the summer amplifying a conspiracy aimed at your rival and then expect "all my respect" three months later to read as uncomplicated.
Put the two moves side by side. In July the account signal-boosted the idea that Messi's team was being gifted a World Cup. In October, fresh off his own embarrassment, the same man is Messi's biggest admirer. Both can't be the whole truth, and the one that showed up when Ronaldo needed a kinder headline is the one I trust less.
Messi closed his international story on his own terms and let his football do the talking. Ronaldo closed his week by walking out, apologizing, then finding the perfect words for somebody else's farewell. A man who meant it would have posted it when it cost him nothing. He posted it when he needed it most.
