Eagle-eyed fans noticed that the same player who squared up to and shouted in Cristiano Ronaldo’s face on Friday also angrily confronted Lionel Messi at the 2022 World Cup

Ali Albulayhi of Al-Hilal squared up to Cristiano Ronaldo (Image: Getty Images)

Saudi Arabian defender Ali Al-Bulayhi was spotted “talking s***” to Cristiano Ronaldo exactly one year after ruffling Lionel Messi’s feathers at the World Cup.

The 34-year-old centre-back appears to have a knack for getting into it with the greatest, clashing with Ronaldo as Al-Hilal beat Al-Nassr 3-0 in the Saudi Pro League. It came after Al-Bulayhi stayed on the ground a tad too long for the Manchester United legend’s liking after being fouled.

Ronaldo sarcastically clapped the defender for play-acting, but would not have expected Al-Bulayhi to aggressively square up to him while yelling in his face. The Portugal captain seemed unintimidated though, laughing off the heated outburst.

Al-Bulayhi was sent off at the end of the game for antagonising Al-Nassr fans. And after going viral on social media, fans soon realised he was responsible for a very similar incident with Ronaldo’s long-time rival Messi at the 2022 World Cup, where Saudi shockingly beat eventual tournament winners Argentina 2-1.

“Tears the guy is the same one that was talking s*** to Messi when Saudi Arabia was leading against Argentina in the World Cup,” one fan wrote on X.

Cristiano Ronaldo (R) of Al-Nassr reacted to Ali Al-Bulayhi (L) by laughing in his face (Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)Ali Al-Bulayhi tried to rile up Lionel Messi during the World Cup exactly a year ago (Image: Getty Images)

Another user quote-tweeted it with a clip of him going head to head with Messi at the World Cup alongside the message: “He’s a menace,” while another replied: “Who does he think he is?”

And others agreed, tweeting: “He’s so annoying bro,” and “I don’t even think Messi understood a word.”

Ali Al-Bulayhi has been labelled a “menace” for his antics (Image: Visionhaus/Getty Images)

The latter was correct as Al-Bulayhi later revealed he told Messi: “You will not win, you will not win!” while his team was in front. He had slapped Messi on the back before barking intensely in the Argentine’s face, with Messi clearly confused and laughing off the gimmick.

Yet Al-Bulayhi could be deemed to have had the last laugh. He managed to beat both GOATs – the first at international level and the second at club level – a feat which few others can brag about.