Ronaldo’s fiery performance in the Saudi Supег Cup semi-final resulted in a red card, marking his first dismissal from the field in six years. The last instance of Ronaldo receiving a red card was during Juventus’ 2-0 victory over Valencia in the 2018/19 Champions League.

Throughout his career, Ronaldo has accumulated a total of 12 red cards, with 4 during his time at Manchester United, 6 at Real Madrid, 1 at Juventus, and 1 at Al Nassr. His first red card occurred in 2004 during Manchester United’s 2-0 win over Aston Villa in the Premier League.

Notably, Ronaldo often finds himself receiving red cards in high-stakes derby matches. In 2006, during the Manchester derby, he was sent off in Manchester United’s 1-3 defeat to Manchester City. In 2013, despite scoring the only goal for Real Madrid in a 1-2 loss to Atletico Madrid in the King’s Cup, he was subsequently shown a red card.

Similarly, Ronaldo received a red card in the Classic match against Barcelona during the 2017 Spanish Supег Cup. Most recently, in what is considered Saudi Arabia’s new derby between Al Nassr and Al Hilal, Ronaldo was once again sent off.

On the other hand, although known for his gentleness, Messi has also been shown the red card three times. His first dismissal came during his Argentina debut against Hungary in 2005. The second instance occurred 15 years later in the 2019 Copa America 3rd place match after a collision with Gary Medel. Messi’s most recent red card was during Barcelona’s 2-3 defeat against Bilbao in the 2021 Spanish Supег Cup.

It’s worth noting that all three of Messi’s red cards were direct, whereas out of Ronaldo’s 11 dismissals, 8 were direct red cards.