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Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, as the undisputed best players in world football, have often been portrayed as being in direct competition with one another over the past ten years.
Honestly, there’s nothing to suggest that these two don’t like each other personally. Whether it’s effective media training for modern footballers or genuine respect for one another, public statements have usually been full of praise. It wouldn’t be a surprise, however, if the two saw each other as motivation to keep moving forward.
We’ve looked at some of the defining quotes from their rivalry over the years.
Ahead of the 2009 Champions League final between Ronaldo’s Manchester United and Messi’s Barcelona, the Portuguese told Sky Sports: “It made me proud to be recognized as the best. I’ve always believed I was the best, but it was an honor to become the official number one – and I still think I’m at the top. “
« Sometimes it is clear that winning the Champions League can determine the outcome when there is a close battle between two players for the European or World Player of the Year.
“I won it last year because Manchester United won the Champions League and the Premier League, but I also won it because I scored 42 goals myself. ”
After winning his first La Liga title in 2012, Ronaldo was optimistic about his skills compared to Messi.
« Some people say I am better, others say he is, but at the end of the day they will decide who is the best player, » Ronaldo told CNN.
« Right now … I think it is me. Sometimes (the comparisons with Messi) make me tired . . . for him too, because they compare us all the time. He does the best things for Barcelona, I do the best things for Madrid.
« I think we sometimes push ourselves in competition, that’s why the competition is so high. ”
For Messi, he’s always believed that the rivalry stems from the media more than from real disgust.
In 2012, The Telegraph reported that he said, « Just the media, the press, who want us to be at a dispute, but I never fought with Cristiano. « . ”
From humble beginnings to legendary status, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have shared the world stage for 15 years.
While the white heat of competition doesn’t lend itself to prospect, Ronaldo has shown some of that quality as he pondered future relationships between the two. This would indicate that the rivalry wasn’t as personal as depicted
« We are colleagues, » Ronaldo told Marca in 2014. « We’re kind of work-life friends and we obviously don’t have a relationship outside of the world of football like we don’t with many other players. « .
“Like me, he tries to do his best for his club and national team and there is a certain rivalry when we both try to do our best for the teams we represent.
« I hope so (we can laugh about it). Football is a game, a pastime and something we love to do.
“Football is a great thing that everyone loves to see. We have to look at this rivalry with a positive mind because it is a good thing. ”
Called MESSI and written by the renowned Spanish soccer journalist Guillem Balague, it contained a section that gave an insight into how Ronaldo viewed his Argentine counterpart privately.
The Telegraph contained an excerpt from the book that read: “And that’s why, according to some Real Madrid players, CR7 has a nickname for him: ‘Mother – r’; and if he sees someone from the club talking to Leo, he’ll be baptized too. ‘
“In this environment, Ronaldo usually compares their relationship to that between the Republic of Ireland and the UK. And the Madrid players, with their less subtle sense of humor in the locker room, have a long list of jokes that include Messi as Ronaldo’s dog or puppet, or kept in a Portuguese player’s designer handbag. And much worse. ”
When Ronaldo left Spain to join Juventus in 2018, Messi publicly stated that he had missed the striker’s presence in La Liga.
« Although it was a bit difficult to see him win trophies, he did give La Liga prestige, » Messi told FM Club 947 in Argentina.
“Juventus have been a great candidate to win the Champions League since Cristiano arrived and the Atleti game must have given them a lot of confidence. ”
By the summer of 2019, relations were so positive that Messi and Ronaldo took part in this year’s Champions League draw. This was an occasion when mutual love flowed.
“We shared the stage for 15 years. I don’t know if that has happened before – always the same two guys on the same stage, ”said Ronaldo.
« Of course we have a good relationship. We haven’t had dinner together yet, but I hope for the future. We had this battle in Spain. I pushed him and he pushed me too. So it’s good to be part of the history of football. ”
During the night, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo sat down next to each other and just talked …
Lionel Messi took & every three minutes to remind us that he is a genius.
Lionel Messi, FC Barcelona, UEFA Champions League, Cristiano Ronaldo, La Liga
World news – AU – Lionel Messi & Ronaldo’s rivalry in quotation marks: « He gave La Liga prestige » – Planet soccer
Ref: https://www.planetfootball.com
