Wellington, New Zealand - After huge fan backlash over a Cristiano Ronaldo tattoo on her left shin, Argentina forward Yamila Rodriguez has defended herself against claims she's "anti Messi."

The 25-year-old Argentinian soccer player, who has recently been competing in the 2023 Women's World Cup, has spoken out against critics on social media who have taken a dislike to a tattoo of Ronaldo she sports on her left shin.

The athlete is a big fan of Cristiano Ronaldo, a fellow forward who has scored more than 800 goals in his career. But there's one big problem: he's not Messi.

Seeing as Messi and Ronaldo have an eternal rivalry, and Lionel Messi is an Argentine star, fans of the country's soccer team are not happy that Rodriguez is seemingly kicking for the other side.

Rodriguez is not having it, though, and has hit back on social media against so-called fans who are criticizing her choice of ink.

Rodriguez took to Instagram to address the backlash, telling fans to "please stop" and pushing back against the idea that just because she's a Ronaldo fan, she's against Messi.

"Please stop, I'm not having a good time," she wrote. "At what point did I say that I'm anti-Messi?"

"Messi is our great captain in the national team, but the fact that I say that my inspiration and my idol is [Ronaldo] does not mean that I hate Messi."

She asked fans, "Can't you have an idol or a player you like?" while requesting that they stop harassing and critiquing her choice of tattoo.

Both Messi and Ronaldo have been enveloped in their own share of controversy lately as well. Messi has jumped ship from Argentina and is now officially playing for Inter Miami, while Ronaldo is embroiled in backlash against his decision to move to Saudi Arabia.