sportbible logo

To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders

Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications

Cristiano Ronaldo's Private Stance On Lionel Messi Revealed After Man United Star Was Asked The 'Big Question'

Cristiano Ronaldo's Private Stance On Lionel Messi Revealed After Man United Star Was Asked The 'Big Question'

Cristiano Ronaldo hilariously told Piers Morgan that he enjoyed being ahead of Lionel Messi when it came to his huge social media following.

Piers Morgan has revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo showed his full admiration for Barcelona legend Lionel Messi during a private conversation in Italy.

Ronaldo, 36, has enjoyed a heated on-pitch rivalry with Messi as the two world-class stars held a tight deadlock over the Ballon d'Or award for a decade.

The Portuguese superstar and Messi are often considered as two of the finest players in the history of football alongside the likes of Diego Maradona and Pele.

Ronaldo stunned the world in the summer after he made his sudden departure from Juventus to re-sign for Manchester United.

Meanwhile, Messi made his shock exit from Barcelona and completed a sensational free transfer to Paris Saint-Germain.

Morgan, who has been a long admirer of Ronaldo, opened up on his exchange with the United legend at his favourite restaurant in Turin.

The ex-Good Morning Britain co-presenter claimed that Ronaldo felt Messi was head and shoulders above the rest when it came to the best player he played against.

However, Ronaldo cheekily insisted that Morgan asked the wrong question and he knows who is the GOAT of football.

PA

Read More:

Morgan wrote in his column for The Daily Mail: “‘Who's the greatest footballer you've ever played against?' I asked Cristiano Ronaldo.

“It was 1am on the candlelit terrace of his favourite restaurant in Turin, Italy, where he was still playing for Juventus before his recent sensational decision to rejoin Manchester United.

“We'd dined on a glorious feast of the finest Japanese food and Italian red wine (I drank rather more of that than he did) and chatted about everything from elite sport and politics to serial killers.

“It was time for the big question. ‘Messi,’ he replied, immediately and emphatically.

“‘Really?’ I said, surprised that he would name his biggest rival.

“‘For sure. He is the best I've played against.’

“Then he grinned.

“‘But Piers, you are asking me the wrong question.’

“‘OK. What's the right question?’

“‘You should just ask me who is the greatest player…’

“‘I think I know the answer,’ I replied, laughing.

“Ronaldo winked and we clinked glasses. He believes he's the best to ever play the game.

“And I agree with him.”

PA

Ronaldo has arrived back in Manchester after his £12.9m transfer on deadline day.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner could make his highly anticipated second United debut against Newcastle at Old Trafford on 11th September.

Read More:

Ronaldo told Morgan that he wasn’t obsessed with his staggering social media following, but he admitted that he liked that he was ahead of Messi in that regard.

“I’ve never met anyone with a more unshakable confidence in his own abilities than him, and I'm not exactly a shrinking violet myself,” Morgan added.

“It's one of the reasons I like him so much.

“‘If you don't think you are the best,’ he explained to me over dinner, ‘if you don't believe you are No 1 in your job, then you're not thinking properly.’

PA

“That attitude, which some view as arrogance but I view as self-belief, has propelled him from a poor, humble upbringing in Madeira to become, if Instagram popularity is the most accurate currency of modern fame, the biggest star in the world.

“In fact, it's not even close.

“Ronaldo has a staggering 337 million followers on the social-media platform, dwarfing the second highest, movie actor Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson with 267 million, and then Ariana Grande (264 million), Kylie Jenner (263 million) and Messi with ‘just’ 260 million.

“He tried to pretend to me that it didn't matter if he was ‘third or fourth on Instagram’ because it's not his actual job, so I goaded him into a more truthful answer.

“‘But when you see how far you're ahead of Messi, what do you feel?’

“‘Good!’ he laughed. ‘I like to be No 1. But for me, the most important thing is to be No 1 at my job, football, and No 1 for my family and kids. The rest is something I can't control.’”

Featured Image Credit: Manchester United/PA/BT Sport

Topics: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Football, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain, Premier League, Ligue 1, France, England