Cristiano Ronaldo under fire for Instagram post

Cristiano Ronaldo (left) posted this image of him and close friend Jose Semedo to Instagram. Photo / Instagram

Cristiano Ronaldo has sparked controversy after captioning a photo of himself and friend Jose Semedo as 'black and white chocolate'.

The Real Madrid superstar posted the image - which shows the pair posing topless in a pool - to his Instagram account on Monday night.

Ronaldo with Semedo, Miguel Paixao and son Cristiano Jnr in another Instagram picture

But despite attracting over 2.7 million likes so far, Ronaldo's comment drew criticism from some users of the picture-sharing platform.

Alongside the photo, Ronaldo wrote: 'Perfect Mach (sic) Black And White chocolate', leading some Instagram users to claim he was being racist.

User ramostheme commented 'Thats (sic) a little racist', while rafael22alam wrote 'You're racist' in response to Ronaldo's latest post.

Ronaldo recently became father to twins after Mateo and Eva were born via a surrogate

However, a number of other users supported Ronaldo, insisting there was nothing offensive about his choice of words.

'He's standing next to and is friends with a black person hows (sic) this racist?', wrote njr_21_, while amaliatiara99 added 'Hahahhaah its not racist its just a joke... (sic)'.

Ronaldo poses with girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez after finishing the season with Real Madrid

Ronaldo has been friends with fellow footballer Semedo - who is currently without a club after being released by Sheffield Wednesday - for 20 years after they met at Sporting Lisbon's academy.

They are known to speak almost every day and still set aside at least a week each summer to holiday together with their families.

Ronaldo is the father of Cristiano Jnr and newborn twins, Mateo and Eva. According to the Portuguese TV channel SIC, Ronaldo had the boy and girl via a surrogate mother on the west coast of America.

Rodriguez dangles her legs in a pool and poses in a bikini for one of her own Instagram snaps

Semedo recently travelled to Cardiff to watch his pal play a starring role in Real Madrid's Champions League final victory over Juventus.

Speaking about his relationship with Ronaldo to Sportsmail in January, Semedo said: 'I see Ronaldo as a proper brother.

'We've grown up together. He doesn't think he would ever have reached the level he has, but believes it's down to our mentality not to give up on anything.'