The main reason is likely because Ronaldo is just a flashier player. Especially earlier on he had more of a highlight reel for dribbling as opposed to the efficient and effective body feints of Messi. Ronaldo also had some screamer long shot goals. Outside of that the dude always marketed himself well. Flashy is appealing to young fellas. Not saying Messi wasn’t, but that is likely why some of those dudes prefer Ronaldo. Messi is still extremely popular in his own right.
The ball is round
It’s cultural my guy. You are writing this passing judgement over something you understand basically nothing about. The Spanish language itself is incredibly descriptive and people give nicknames based on appearance as a matter of habit. The UK and Spain are not the same at all nor are the languages and cultures.
Race in general in Spanish speaking counties is just not close to being perceived as it is in the Anglo sphere. The history is different and therefore Latinos, and Spaniards alike don’t view it the same way as the people in the UK and US do.
The problem is that you see something as “common sense” when it’s not. There are tons of factors that make the UK and Spain distinct culturally (language included) that you are not factoring into what the Spanish consider to be common sense. Therefore, the reason that the UK was able to stamp it out is because culturally they were more inclined to do so as of right now. The world IS racist and you really have to get out of this mindset that everyone thinks like the Brits do. They don’t for a myriad of different reasons. I’m not saying people shouldn’t be taught to do better, but talking down at people saying things should be “common sense” to them is just talking down at them and will solve nothing.
They aren’t really irrelevant. They still work, but they are riskier. Putting the ball in the air like that is essentially making a pass 50/50 instead of a closer pass.