"During joy, the person does not know what to do" - Kuwait star reveals why he did Cristiano Ronaldo celebration despite being Lionel Messi fan
Kuwaiti winger Mohammad Daham has recently grabbed fans' attention after performing Cristiano Ronaldo's celebration despite being a Lionel Messi fan. The 24-year-old plays for Kuwait SC, having joined The Brigadiers from Al-Nasr SC in 2023 for a reported fee of €596 thousand (via Transfermarkt).
Mohammad Daham was one of the key players in Kuwait's 2-1 win against the United Arab Emirates on December 24 in round two of the Gulf Cup. Despite going 1-0 down in the 6th minute courtesy of Caio Canedo's goal, Kuwait bounced back to win the game 2-1. Daham (17') and Moath Al-Enezi (90') got on the scoresheet for them.
After Daham's equalizer, the 24-year-old performed Cristiano Ronaldo's iconic 'Siu' celebration to commemorate his goal. However, in a post-match interview with the Qatari Al-Kass Channels Network, Daham explained that he loves Lionel Messi more. He said that he considers the Portuguese superstar the second-best player in the world.
He said (as quoted by GOAL):
"Despite my love for Messi, I celebrated in the style of Ronaldo. You know that when you are happy, you don't know what to do. This is what happened to me when I imitated Cristiano."
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are widely considered two of the greatest players to have ever played the game. They have won 13 Ballons d'Or between them, with the Argentine winning a record eight.
Meanwhile, with the two points, Kuwait are now joint toppers of Group A with four points in two games along with Oman in the Gulf Cup.
Argentine legend picks Cristiano Ronaldo over Lionel Messi
Former Argentine goalkeeper Hugo Gatti has picked Cristiano Ronaldo over compatriot Lionel Messi. The Lionel Messi vs. Cristiano Ronaldo debate has been the focal point of most footballing discourses over the last two decades. The two juggernauts of the game have already scored over 1700 goals (combined) and are still putting up impressive numbers.
In a recent interview with La Nacion, Gatti appreciated Cristiano Ronaldo's penchant for seeking new challenges despite being allegedly less gifted than Lionel Messi. He said (via SPORTbible):
"Today, he’s already one less. He’s playing country-club soccer in the United States. It’s tougher playing there [in the Saudi Pro League]. Everyone plays there. They chase you; they’ll kill you. Cristiano, even limited, is a phenomenon. Limited, he’s better than Messi."
"And he’s limited because he doesn’t have Messi’s natural talent, but he played for the best teams in the world. Where did Messi play? Barca and the Argentina national team. Messi never challenged himself by playing for other teams, in other countries. And he had the opportunities, you know?"
Messi and Ronaldo have played against one another for a total of 36 times in their respective careers. While Ronaldo has won 11 of them, Messi has been victorious 16 times. The remaining nine have ended in stalemates.
