Cristiano and Figo generate controversy in their farewell to the late basketball legend Kobe Bryant

Fans have expressed their anger after Twitter accounts belonging to Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Figo embarrassingly posted identical tribute messages to the late basketball legend Kobe Bryant.

Bryant was travelling Sunday with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other passengers and crew when the Sikorsky S-76 slammed into a rugged hillside in thick fog in Calabasas, northwest of LA. There were no survivors. Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Figo publish the same Twitter message

After the tragic news spread out, Juventus star Ronaldo joined fans from around the world in paying homage to the 41-year-old.

“So sad to hear the heartbreaking news of the deaths of Kobe and his daughter Gianna. Kobe was a true legend and inspiration to so many. Sending my condolences to his family and friends and the families of all who lost their lives in the crash. RIP Legend,” Ronaldo wrote in a tweet accompanied by a black and white photo of Bryant holding a basketball.

Coincidentally, Luis Figo also posted an identical message similar to that of Ronaldo’s, though with a different picture.

So sad to hear the heartbreaking news of the deaths of Kobe and his daughter Gianna. Kobe was a true legend and inspiration to so many. Sending my condolences to his family and friends and the families of all who lost their lives in the crash. RIP Legend???? pic.twitter.com/8jYxfohLlj — Luís Figo (@LuisFigo) January 27, 2020

“So sad to hear the heartbreaking news of the deaths of Kobe and his daughter Gianna. Kobe was a true legend and inspiration to so many. Sending my condolences to his family and friends and the families of all who lost their lives in the crash. RIP Legend,” Luis Figo also wrote.

Fans were extremely outraged when they saw that the text posted were identical.

Below are some of the things the fans said:

One Twitter usersaid: "A bit unfortunate, but a nice message."

Another added: "Actually if anyone copied it from somebody it was Ronaldo from Figo lol, but this is obviously a post made by some social media manager for both of them. Everything is about marketing with CR7 lol."

Someone wrote: "Man I love Figo but why in the world did he copy / paste Ronaldo’s tweet... could have at least changed the emoji..."

Another account wrote: “Copy and paste… feelings of lies”.

Bryant's career began in 1996, straight out of high school. On top of his NBA championship wins, he helped the US squad of allstars to Olympic titles in 2008 in Beijing and 2012 in London.

- Fairytale farewell -

Bryant bowed out of the NBA in 2016, scoring 60 points in a fairytale farewell appearance at the Staples Center.

The son of former NBA player Joe "Jellybean" Bryant, the Lakers legend was born in Philadelphia while his father played for the 76ers.

The elder Bryant played from 1984 to 1991 in Italy, giving young Kobe a global worldview as he grew up dreaming of following his dad into the NBA.

He would eventually join the ranks of professionals at the age of 17, jumping directly into the NBA, only the sixth player to make such a leap.

At 18, Bryant became, at the time, the youngest player or starter in an NBA game and the youngest winner of the NBA Slam Dunk Contest.

With Bryant alongside Shaquille O'Neal, the Lakers captured three straight NBA crowns from 2000-2002, returning the team to glory days unseen since 1988.

Bryant's career was almost derailed in 2003 when he was arrested in Colorado over a sexual assault complaint filed by a 19-year-old hotel employee where Bryant was staying ahead of knee surgery.

He admitted to adultery but denied an accusation of rape and the case was dropped in 2004 after the accuser refused to testify.

A separate civil suit was settled under terms kept private.

After his playing career, Bryant branched out into the entertainment industry.

In 2018, he won an Oscar for his animated short film "Dear Basketball", a love letter to the sport which brought him fame and fortune.