Why Cristiano Ronaldo has 'refused' to talk to Gary Lineker over Lionel Messi comments

Gary Lineker has revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo refused to speak to him due to his opinion of Lionel Messi.

Over the last few years, one of the biggest debates amongst football fans is whether Ronaldo or Messi is the undisputed GOAT of football.

During their illustrious careers, both players have been breaking records left, right and centre and they often went head-to-head during their time in La Liga, with Ronaldo playing for Real Madrid and Messi for Barcelona.

Speaking about the rivalry, former Barcelona and England striker Lineker revealed that Ronaldo refused to speak to him in the past.

During the BBC’s coverage of Portugal vs South Korea at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Rio Ferdinand spoke about Ronaldo.

He said: “It's weird because he's achieved so much so what more is there for him to aim at? But he'll be scratching around so he's got something to aim at because he needs that fuel.

“He uses every single comment from a pundit, comment from the media, report or record that's available as fuel.”

At this point, Lineker said: “I can tell you from my own experience that if you harbour the opinion that Lionel Messi is the better footballer, then he doesn't want to speak to you.”

Getty

Ferdinand then joked: “He doesn't like you Gary.”

Lineker then continued: “That's okay. I understand that even though I have adored watching his career. He's an incredible footballer but a bit touchy on that particular subject.”

As per The Express, Lineker said back in 2020: “People get very tribal in all sorts of ways in life, and Messi versus Ronaldo is one of them.

“I am a huge fan of Ronaldo too, but if you're talking about the best player ever, there shouldn't even be a debate that it is Messi. That's just my opinion, but it's not even close for me.”

SPORTbible are on WhatsApp! We've launched a dedicated news channel to send you the latest news, features and plenty more directly on WhatsApp and all you need to do to sign up is click through to our one-way broadcast channel here for 'SPORTbible News' to appear in the 'Updates' tab on your WhatsApp.