Alejandro Garnacho has been under the spotlight since his wonder goal against Everton for Manchester United. Another interesting layer was added into the mix when the Argentine winger gave tribute to Cristiano Ronaldo by celebrating the wonder goal with ‘SIUUU’ celebration. The celebration and the open admiration for Ronaldo was the theme when Ferdinand discussed the Argentine winger on his podcast.
Rio Ferdinand discussed Alejandro Garnacho’s wonder goal against Everton on his podcast Vibe with Five. In the episode, he revealed that Lionel Messi has unfollowed Garnacho due to his open admiration of Cristiano Ronaldo.
🚨RIO FERDINAND:
“My lad said to me Messi is unfollowed him (Garnacho) because he comes out, don’t care I’m a Ronaldo man, who is the GOAT? “Ronaldo.” When he is in the Argentina squad.”pic.twitter.com/AW4E0UcXKv
— CristianoXtra (@CristianoXtra_) November 27, 2023
The former England international revealed: “My lad said to me the other day Messi unfollowed him [Garnacho]. He said Messi’s unfollowed him. Because he comes out, don’t care, ‘I’m a Ronaldo man’. Who’s the GOAT? Ronaldo. (Even) when he’s in the Argentina squad.”
The statement raised eyebrows in the online soccer community as various outlets ran with the story, taking the statement from Ferdinand as the source. However, on the flip end, many fans on social accused the Manchester United legend of lying for views and content.
Fake , Messi never followed him , stop making stuff up just to create hate , garna loves and admires both of them and you all Trying to creating a rivalry. https://t.co/mQIW4FFWCa
— Roberto Garnacho (@garnakjcc) November 28, 2023
The accusation came out to be the truth as Roberto Garnacho, Alejandro Garnacho’s brother came out and revealed the truth. He quote tweeted Ferdinand’s video on ‘X’ and wrote: “Fake. Messi never followed him, stop making stuff up just to create hate, garna loves and admires both of them and you all Trying to creating a rivalry.”
Roberto went on to add that he has seen videos of Messi showing the World Cup to his brother, Alejandro. He pointed out that the online reports aren’t an accurate description of the relationship between Alejandro Garnacho and Messi.
Rio Ferdinand reacts to revelation by Alejandro Garnacho’s brother
The response from Garnacho’s brother went viral on social media gaining more than 500,000 views on ‘X’ which prompted Rio Ferdinand to plead his case. The former England international replied in the comments and said: “Was sarcasm, bro.”
Roberto followed it up by stating that the statement wasn’t aimed just at him. He wanted to set the record straight that Messi never followed his brother. He wanted to reveal the details because there had been a lot of chatter about his brother in the media. Garnacho’s name was being used as another pawn in the Ronaldo vs Messi rivalry.
Was sarcasm bro…
— Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5) November 28, 2023
These statements have cleared that air and would prompt fans as well as experts to focus on the on-field exploits of the Argentine winger rather than his offline comments and social media activity. On the other end, the saga has put a dent in the credibility of Rio Ferdinand’s name.
This is the first time the England international has been caught using his platform to spread misinformation. It would be interesting to see if fans and media outlets trust Ferdinand’s statements for their stories. The England international saved his face by calling his statement sarcasm but that might not work the next time.