OMNISPORT

Brazil legend Ronaldo has given Real Madrid's Toni Kroos a swift response in the wake of the Germany international's provocative new year's message, which alluded to his country's 7-1 win over the Selecao at the 2014 World Cup.

Kroos posted a picture on Twitter on Sunday to wish his followers a happy 2017, replacing the one with a Brazilian flag and the seven with a German banner.

The midfielders' post did not go down well in Brazil, however, with many criticising him over the provocative nature of the image.

Kroos followed up his message later on with a tweet expressing his surprise with the reaction to what he described as "a little joke", but Ronaldo has now re-opened the debate with a picture of his own.

The ex-Madrid striker took to Facebook to upload a picture of himself in action in Brazil's 2002 World Cup final win over Germany, replacing the two and zero in his new year's wish with a Brazilian and German flag, respectively, to mirror Kroos' tactics.

Ensuring that his message would not go unnoticed with Kroos, Ronaldo tagged the influential midfielder in his post, accompanied by a winking emoticon.

Ronaldo put in a man-of-the-match performance back in 2002, scoring twice to lead his country to glory.