Cristiano Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos haven't seen or spoken to each other since 2018 due to a falling out over the Ballon d'Or.
According to Spanish newspaper Marca, the pair - who should face each other when Spain play Portugal tonight - have not kept in contact since Ronaldo left Real Madrid for Juventus in 2018.
Despite leaving, he still had the respect of captain Ramos and the Real dressing room. However things reportedly grew very frosty due to CR7's reaction to Luka Modric winning the Ballon d'Or in 2018, beating the Portuguese five-time winner in the process.
At the time, Ronaldo told the Italian media: "Of course I'm disappointed... On the pitch I've done everything to win the Ballon d'Or, numbers do not lie. But I'm no less happy if I do not win, I have wonderful friends and a family, I play in one of the best clubs.
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"Congratulations to Modric, who has earned the award, but next year we will meet again and I will do everything to win the prize again. Do you think I'm going home and cry?"
Pretty much what you'd expect from the hyper-competitive Juventus attacker, who did at least congratulate Modric.
But given the fact the two players were teammates for six seasons, sharing such wonderful success on the pitch together, perhaps some at Real Madrid felt Ronaldo should have more publicly happy for the Croatian playmaker.
This, according to Marca, is behind the "colder relationship" Ronaldo now shares with Ramos and the rest of the Real Madrid dressing room. The exception to the rule is reportedly Marcelo, the Brazilian full-back who still enjoys a great relationship with Ronaldo.
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Cristiano did attend the last Clasico at the Bernabeu in March 2020 - a 2-0 win over Barcelona - but arrived just before kick-off and left a few minutes before full-time, so did not meet any of his former teammates.
Maybe it's understandable if Ronaldo and Ramos don't share a close bond in 2020. After all, both possess a burning desire to win and are hardly what you'd call sentimental types. We would expect both to be giving it 100% if Juve were to draw Real in the Champions League.
However given all they have won together - four Champions Leagues, three Club World Cups, two Liga titles and two Copa del Reys - it's a shame if there really is ill-feeling between Real's record goalscorer and the club's current captain.
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All imagery: PA Images
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Football News, Sergio Ramos, Football, Juventus, Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid