Karim Benzema’s social media activity has many thinking he was responding to Cristiano Ronaldo.

Fans think Karim Benzema has dissed Cristiano Ronaldo after he picked Kylian Mbappe over him.

Benzema and Ronaldo signed for Real Madrid in the same summer in 2009 and the pair won four Champions Leagues and two La Liga titles.

Along with Gareth Bale, they formed one of the most devastating tridents in world football.

Benzema often played second-fiddle to Ronaldo, taking on a selfless role to allow him to shine.

When Ronaldo left for Juventus in 2018, the Frenchman appeared to go up another gear and his goalscoring numbers improved and became more consistent.

Benzema’s best ever season was in the 2021/22 campaign when he hit 44 goals in 46 games as Real won the La Liga and Champions League double, with his achievements resulting in him claiming the Ballon d’Or for the first time.

Despite playing with Benzema for a number of years, Ronaldo picked fellow Real No.9 Mbappe ahead of him when taking part in a ‘This or That’-style quiz with Rio Ferdinand on his YouTube channel UR Cristiano.

And it seems as though Benzema wasn’t best-pleased. On his Instagram page, the Al Ittihad striker shared an image of the Ballon d’Or award he won two years back.

Image: Instagram/@karimbenzema

He also changed his Instagram profile picture to the Ballon d’Or, with many feeling as though he was responding to Ronaldo’s snub.

One fan said: “Karim Benzema replies to Ronaldo picking Mbappe over him with an IG story showing his Ballon d’Or trophy.

A second commented: “They’re having civil war.”

A third person wrote: “I wish Benzema won the World Cup with France in 2018, he would have posted that instead.”

A fourth tweeted: “This level of petty.”

A final user opined: “Ronaldo has now lost Benzema and Rooney as his friends, two strikers who sacrificed themselves for Ronaldo.”

However, if it is indeed a dig to Ronaldo – it is worth pointing out that he has four more Ballon d’Ors in his collection.