Lionel Messi gave a rare insight into his relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo.
While both in the twilight of their respective careers, for close to two decades Messi and Ronaldo dominated football and battled for the sport’s highest honours.
They have collectively won 13 Ballon d’Ors, with Messi claiming a record eight and Ronaldo picking up five, while they battled for La Liga titles, Copa del Reys and Champions League crowns while playing at Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively.
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This week Messi explained his relationship with Ronaldo off the pitch, insisting that while they are “not friends”, he has a “lot of respect” for the Portugal international.
"I have a lot of respect and admiration for Cristiano Ronaldo and for the career he’s had and continues to have, because he’s still competing at the highest level," Messi told DSports.
"The competition with him was on the pitch. Each of us wanted to do the best for our team.
"Obviously, as always, everything stayed on the field. Off the pitch, we are two normal people.
"We’re not friends, obviously, because we don’t spend time together, but we’ve always treated each other with a lot of respect."
Similarly, Ronaldo spoke of his relationship with Argentina star Messi, in a 2022 Talk TV interview with Piers Morgan.
When he was quizzed about Messi, Ronaldo told Morgan: “Amazing player is magic, top…
“As a person, we share the stage 16 years, imagine, 16 years. We share. So, I have a great relationship with him.
“I'm not a friend of his in terms of, what I mean friend is the guy who was with you in your house, speaking on the phone, no, but it's like a teammate.
"He’s a guy that I really respect the way he always speaks about me. Even his wife or my wife, my girlfriend, they always respect each other and they're from Argentina.
“My girlfriend is from Argentina. So good. What am I going to say about Messi? A great guy who does great things for football.”
Topics: Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Football, Ballon d'Or
Chris Byfield