AUCKLAND: Argentina's Women's World Cup striker Yamila Rodriguez has defended having a tattoo of Cristiano Ronaldo on her leg, saying: "I don't hate Messi."
The 25-year-old faced flak on social media from fans back home after they spotted the ink on her left shin of Portugal's Ronaldo – the great rival of Argentina captain Lionel Messi.
"Please, enough, I'm not doing well. At what point did I say I'm anti-Messi?" Rodriguez wrote on social media in response.
"Messi is our great captain in the national team, but the fact that I say that my inspiration and my idol is CR7 (Ronaldo) does not mean that I hate Messi. Enough, it's tiring and it hurts."
Rodriguez, who came on as a substitute in Monday's 1-0 World Cup defeat to Italy, has numerous other tattoos, including one of Argentina legend Diego Maradona. -- AFP