Michael Jordan has an evergreen global cult beyond imagination. It’s not just millions of fans who consider him as their icon, the legendary basketballer’s influence extends to other sports, like soccer. While it wasn’t long ago, when Lionel Messi expressed his deep fandom for MJ, Cristiano Ronaldo has also jumped, or shall we say ‘bowed‘ to the bandwagon that may impress Jordan’s fanbase.

The Portuguese superstar recently shared a minute-long video on his official YouTube channel UR Cristiano, where he took part in a ‘This or That’ game. In this segment, the Al Nassr star had to make a choice from the given two options by bending either the left or right side and the front nod would mean a draw.

At the end of the segment, he was asked to choose between Michael Jordan and Stephen Curry. Without any second thought, he leaned on his right to choose Air Jordan, vocally expressing his preference for the Chicago Bulls icon. However, this wasn’t the only glimpse that was enough to bring smiles to ardent basketball fans.

Initially, the 39-year-old was asked to choose between the NFL and the NBA. Any guesses? Of course, Ronaldo chose basketball over American football. Meanwhile, in other surprising alternatives, the Real Madrid icon chose UFC over boxing (Ironically, he has often been called up as a chief guest in several boxing events held in Saudi Arabia), tennis over golf, and FI over Moto GP.

Surprisingly, Ronaldo couldn’t decide between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal and eventually settled to call it a tie by bending in the middle. Meanwhile, other options saw the skipper choose The Rock over Hulk Hogan in the wrestling department and Tom Hardy over Tiger Woods.

Be that as it may, it certainly was quite interesting to learn about Ronaldo’s preference concerning other sports. Coming to Jordan’s part, even his arch-rival Messi also coincidentally favors the basketball icon.

Long before Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi also paid a special tribute to Michael Jordan

A few months ago, Lionel Messi was featured on the ‘Clank!’ podcast, hosted by the well-known Argentine journalist Juan Pablo Varsky. Before the full interview was released, a teaser photo surfaced showing Messi and Varsky striking a pose that paid homage to Jordan. They mimicked His Airness’ legendary celebration, arms outstretched, echoing his glory days. This was La Pulga’s way of giving a heartwarming tribute to Jordan.

Additionally, while chatting with Varsky, he even commended MJ, “It seems to me, in terms of sports, he’s the greatest there is.” The Barcelona icon even expressed his admiration to get a picture clicked with the 6x NBA Champion with the Chicago Bulls. In an interview earlier, Messi remarked, “From the sports world, I would like to have a photo with Jordan – meet him and have a photo with him.” 

Cristiano Ronaldo can count himself fortunate in this regard. The Al Nassr star had the opportunity to meet the basketball legend in 2019 while on vacation. At the time, CR7 was playing for Juventus, and the former Real Madrid star didn’t let the moment pass without sharing the iconic encounter with Jordan on Instagram.

Regardless, their shared admiration for His Airness unites these two soccer legends. Indeed, that’s the beauty of the sport!