Ronaldo's priceless response to being asked if Jamie Carragher was one of toughest defenders he ever faced has gone viral

Ronaldo has given a priceless response to being asked if Jamie Carragher was one of the toughest defenders he faced during his illustrious playing career.

R9 is a legendary figure and, in the eyes of many, one of the greatest strikers to ever play the game.

The Brazilian's career involved spells at Cruzeiro, PSV Eindhoven, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, AC Milan and Corinthians.

And R9 starred for his country, with 62 goals in 98 caps for Brazil, helping the South American nation to win its fourth and fifth World Cups in 1994 and 2002.

Ronaldo won La Liga with Real during its Galactico era with other legends of the game joining him at the Santiago Bernabeu.

He played alongside Zinedine Zidane, Roberto Carlos, David Beckham and Luis Figo, as he also won the Supercopa de Espana and the Intercontinental Cup in the Spanish capital.

The legendary striker hung up his boots in 2011 and is behind only Neymar and Pele in Brazil's goalscoring stats for the national team.

Carragher is of course a one-club man having spent the whole of his career with Liverpool.

At Anfield, Carragher scored four goals in 737 appearances for the Merseyside club and win the Champions League, two FA Cups, three League Cups, the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Super Cup, before retiring in 2013.

Ronaldo Nazario. (Image: Getty)

After hanging up his boots, Carragher has gone on to have a successful career in punditry, initially with Sky Sports alongside the likes of Gary Neville.

But in recent years, he has also made a name for himself on CBS Sports during the American broadcaster's coverage of the Champions League.

He has starred alongside fellow retired professionals Micah Richards and Thierry Henry, and the trio's dynamic with present Kate Scott.

The broadcaster has taken to social media to post a clip to its channels where R9 is asked who the toughest defender he had ever faced was.

The retired striker named AC Milan and Italy legend Paolo Maldini as the one he felt was the toughest, before the interviewer suggested Carragher.

Ronaldo's polite but awkward reaction as he pulled a face and hesitated with his answer said it all and it has now gone viral, as the Brazilian insisted Maldini was the toughest defender he faced, though he was respectful to the Liverpool legend and admitted he was on the list.

He said: "I had played with a lot of great defenders, but Paolo Maldini was the toughest one."

Maldini spent his entire career with AC Milan, scoring 33 goals in 902 games for the San Siro club, winning seven Serie A and five Champions League crowns with his boyhood club.

Ronaldo was team-mates with Maldini during the 2007-08 season when the Brazilian left Real to head to the Italian giants.

• Ronaldo and Ronaldinho both named the same legendary player as their toughest opponent
• Jamie Carragher admits he still scribbles over former teammate's face when asked to sign pictures of Liverpool team
• Jamie Carragher issues three-word response to bombshell Mo Salah contract news as Liverpool post goes viral
• Jamie Carragher aims cheeky seven-word dig at Liverpool's transfer business and it's instantly gone viral