Cristiano Ronaldo admitted Lionel Messi was better than him at just ONE thing on the football pitch

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have been involved in one of sport's greatest ever rivalries for the best part of 20 years but the former has admitted that there is one area where the Barcelona legend is ahead of him.

Many view the pair of footballing titans as the best two players ever to play the game with their combined 12 Ballon d'Or wins and the fact that they completely raised the bar with their incredible achievements on the pitch.

Ronaldo, who has now surpassed 920 career goals, has always adopted the mindset that nobody is better than him but back in early 2016, the former Manchester United and Real Madrid superstar did acknowledge the one department where Messi has the upper and.

Both legendary players were presented at the ceremony for the 2015 Ballon d'Or, with Messi winning the award for the fifth time. And speaking ahead of the proceedings in Zurich, Switzerland, Ronaldo complimented Messi's wand of a left foot.

Ronaldo told reporters: "His left foot is pretty good - better than mine. I'd like to have his left foot."

Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar were the top three players in the world at the time. Image: Getty

At the time, Neymar was playing with Messi at Barcelona and he proceeded to interrupt Ronaldo by explaining that he'd "take both of his feet".

Messi, however, gave a very calm and measured response to journalists - expressing admiration for Ronaldo but stressing that he is not envious of any other players.

But when Messi was asked the same question, he calmly told reporters that, while he respected Ronaldo, there was nothing about his rival that wishes that he had.

The Argentina captain said: "Envy is a very negative trait. Cristiano has many great qualities which every player would like to have. We each have our individual styles."

Ronaldo's comments about Messi came just two months after he told the BBC that he had no doubts that he was a better player than Messi irrespective of what anyone else thinks.

"In my mind, I'm always the best," Ronaldo said in the November 2015 interview.

"I don't care what people think, what they say. In my mind, not just this year but always, I'm always the best.

"It's opinions, I respect the opinions. Messi is better than me, but in my mind I am better than him. So it's simple."

Although Ronaldo won the next two Ballon d'Ors after Messi's triumph in the 2015 edition, Messi has since gone on to win the prize a further three times in 2019, 2021 and 2023.