Antonio Cassano has urged Cristiano Ronaldo to "do himself a favour" and retire from the game.
These two have had previous in the past. Cassano, who scored over 100 goals during spells at Roma, Real Madrid, AC Milan and Parma, has never been one to hold back when expressing his opinions, with the subject of Ronaldo being no exception.
Last year, he described the Manchester United forward as selfish. "He doesn't care if others score, he only lives to score himself," Cassano said about the five-time Ballon d'Or winner.
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"He doesn't live for football, he lives for his own goals, it's clear."
It doesn't stop there, either. Back in October, the former Italy striker named five players who are better than Cristiano Ronaldo in the history of football after the player's agent, Jorge Mendes, said he was the greatest of all time.
"Enough of Jorge Mendes," he said on Christian Vieri's Twitch channel. "He is not even among the top five: Messi, Pelé, Maradona, Cruyff and Ronaldo 'O Fenómeno are on another level."
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And now, following a slow start to the 2022/23 campaign for club and country, Cassano believes it's time for the 37-year-old forward to hang up his boots.
In a chat with the Muschio Selvaggio podcast, the former Italy international said: "At this point, Cristiano should love himself, do himself a favour and understand that, if he cannot reach a level, he must end his career.
"He has won everything, he has been a phenomenon. Now it’s time to retire.
“I have a lot of respect for CR7, but I don’t like him as a player. [Lionel] Messi is like [Diego] Maradona. He had to leave Argentina at the age of 14 and face serious physical problems, which speaks of sacrifices.”
As mentioned earlier, the pair have been in contact with each other over recent criticism.
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In fact, Cassano claimed that Ronaldo was so upset by his comments that he sent him messages demanding respect for what he has achieved in the game.
"Ronaldo wrote me messages," the former Inter striker said on Christian Vieri's Twitch channel.
"Cristiano Ronaldo, telling me that I need to have respect for him because of the trophies he's won and the goals he's scored. I'm not afraid to tell the truth, I'll face anyone; from the Pope to the last on this earth.
"I called Buffon and he confirmed that he gave my number to the press officer, who turned it over to Ronaldo so he could tell me he's scored 750 goals and I only got 150.
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"To him I'd just say: dear Cristiano, you have everything. Be calm and relaxed. Take your example from Messi, he doesn't give a damn about anything or anyone.
"He sent me a message, honestly it's the truth. Gigi Buffon knows it well, Gigi laughed about it. Chiellini knows too.
"It made me angry: what are you doing? What is your problem?"
Thoughts on Cassano's most recent comments about Ronaldo?
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Let us know in the comments.
Featured Image Credit: Instagram - @cristiano / AlamyTopics: Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United, Portugal