Not so long ago, former Real Madrid star James Rodriguez sent shockwaves in soccer verse with a revelation. Rodriguez said that he and all his teammates were forced to say Cristiano Ronaldo was the best player, per a contractual obligation. Adding fuel to the fire, he also stated that he considered Lionel Messi to be the best. Well, that was Rodriguez months ago. Now that Ronaldo is 2023’s top goal scorer with 54 goals, the Colombian midfielder seems to have backtracked from his stance on Leo Messi.

The Colombian has not said anything about Messi and Ronaldo after the aforementioned revelation. However, one of his gestures on Instagram now speaks volumes about his current stance in the GOAT debate.

James Rodriguez ditches Messi for Cristiano Ronaldo with a gesture?

Cristiano Ronaldo is habitual to savoring his landmark wins on Instagram. After scoring his 54th goal while ousting Al Taawoun 4-1, the Al Nassr star took to Instagram with his picture and captioned the post, “54- I’ll say when it is finished! Thanks team!” James Rodriguez was quick to notice his former Real Madrid teammate’s post and commented a ‘goat’ emoji under Ronaldo’s post. Now that there is no Real Madrid to force Rodriguez to say Ronaldo is the G.O.A.T, he indeed has backtracked from his stance on Leo Messi.

Anyhow, the Colombian cherishing Ronaldo’s feat is not that surprising. The two go back in time. Though not as storied a stint as CR7, Rodriguez has had a decent run in Madrid while he played alongside the Portuguese. Furthermore, CR7’s 54 goal-run is indeed one for the history books. If a player surpasses European stars at the age of 38, that too while playing for a non-European club, the James Rodriguezes of the world can’t help but bow to that talent.

How Ronaldo’s 54-goal riot is awe-inspiring?

The race to be the top goal-scorer has always been a competition of peers. When young scorers usually dominate this hunt, veterans seldom even come close. This year’s competition too looked like that. It was a race between the likes of Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe, and Erling Haaland. But that was until Cristiano Ronaldo stepped in. The 38-year-old veteran’s consistent performances brought him close to these European icons and eventually gave him the edge over them. Now, Kane and Mbappe both have 52 goals each to their tally and Haaland has 50 to Ronaldo’s 54 goals.

READ MORE: “I Faced Some Difficulties”- Otavio Struggled Personally After Joining Cristiano Ronaldo at Al Nassr

When a young Ronaldo was dominating the race for the golden boot, the then veterans never came close. It was either him or Lionel Messi at the top. On goes CR7’s ever inspirational journey. The inspiration is so profound that a Messi idolizer like Rodriguez couldn’t help but call the 38-year-old a ‘goat’ for the time being.

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