Fans on social media believe that Cristiano Ronaldo may have unfollowed his Portugal colleague Bernardo Silva on Instagram due to his comments on the Ballon d’Or trophy

Fans have spotted that Cristiano Ronaldo does not follow Bernardo Silva on Instagram (Image: FIFA via Getty Images)

Eagle-eyed fans believe that Cristiano Ronaldo may have unfollowed Portugal teammate Bernardo Silva on Instagram following the midfielder’s recent Ballon d’Or predictions.

Ronaldo, 38, has clocked up a staggering 198 international caps for his country and played an influential role in the team that won the European Championships back in 2016.

However, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner is expected to play a supporting role in the Portuguese national team going forward as Roberto Martinez turns his focus to the next generation. Domestically, things have changed for Ronaldo too: after struggling to make an impact at Manchester United last season, the veteran striker is now plying his trade in the Middle East with Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Nassr.

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After a disappointing year on the pitch, the chances of Ronaldo adding to his five Ballon d’Or trophies always appeared to be slim – but fans are convinced that Silva’s Ballon d’Or predictions have not gone down well with the Al-Nassr man.

When he was asked about the coveted award recently, the Manchester City midfielder snubbed his international teammate and instead tipped Erling Haaland to be recognised for his remarkable maiden Premier League season. He also name-dropped Real Madrid sensation Vinicius Jr and Lionel Messi.

Silva told L’Equipe : “If [Erling] Haaland wins the league and the Champions League, you can put him in the Ballon d’Or discussion, and you can also talk about Vinicius Jr. If Madrid win the Champions League, but in general, it is between [Lionel] Messi and the winner of the champions, and so far, I will give it to Messi.”

Ronaldo’s first season at Al-Nassr looks set to end without silverware ( Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Fans have noticed after the comments that Silva is not one of the accounts currently being followed by Ronaldo, who does have plenty of his international colleagues on his following list. It’s unclear whether or not Ronaldo previously followed Silva on the social media app.

On the pitch, Ronaldo has endured a difficult few weeks. Al-Nassr have seen their hopes of winning the Saudi Pro League dashed following a number of disappointing results, including last week’s shock 1-1 draw with Al-Kaleej.

And is if dropping points wasn’t bad enough for Ronaldo and Al-Nassr, title rivals Al-Ittihad stormed to a 4-0 win over Abha to extend their lead at the summit with just a handful of matches remaining in the domestic season.

Ronaldo has endured an indifferent season in the Middle East since he put pen-to-paper on a staggering £172million-a-year deal to join the Saudi giants. He claimed he was eager to win new silverware after accomplishing everything he had set out to achieve in Europe during spells with United, Real Madrid and Juventus, but it’s looking more and more likely that Al-Nassr will end the season empty-handed.