Van der Vaart, a Dutch midfielder who had a notable run at Spurs following his time at Madrid, and Cristiano Ronaldo, the iconic Portuguese forward currently playing for Al Nassr, shared the field for a brief period of time while they were at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Van der Vaart recently praised Ronaldo’s unwavering work ethic in an interview with talkSPORT. He described the football player as “selfish,” though, which was a really odd way to do so. He said he only felt content when he found the back of the net, implying that Ronaldo puts his own glory above all others.

Even though being on the same team often fosters friendship, van der Vaart’s recent comments have sparked controversy. Ronaldo has unavoidably taken notice of his remarks that circulated on social media earlier this week.

Ronaldo chose to address the criticism head-on in a classic demonstration of his competitive spirit. He responded with a succinct but direct four-word statement on Instagram, asking, “Who is that guy?” This comment not only called into question van der Vaart’s relevance while talking about his career, but it also demonstrated Ronaldo’s faith in his accomplishments and legacy.