'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
#6 Only Messi and I could be at the top for ten years (2018)
A few months after his big-money move to Juventus in the summer of 2018, Cristiano Ronaldo, while acknowledging the greatness of Lionel Messi, said that both of them were miles ahead of the rest.
Trending
The statement was hardly off the mark. Ronaldo, 33, and Messi, 31, at the time were easily the best players in the game, scoring at least 30 goals a season in their leanest of campaigns. Three years later, they still are.
Going back to the Ronaldo statement in 2018, the Portuguese ace had told France Football regarding the Ballon d'Or nominees for the year:
“How many players are capable of playing at the highest level for more than 10 years? You count them on one hand. There are two, Messi and I.”
Neither player won the Ballon d'Or that year, with Luka Modric breaking Messi and Ronaldo's near decade-long duopoly of the award. A year later, though, Messi won a record-extending sixth Ballon d'Or award.
#5 "It was a beautiful challenge with Messi, but I didn't see it as a rivalry" (2018)
Shortly after his arrival at Juventus on a big-money move, Cristiano Ronaldo told a Portuguese outlet that he had no rivalries with any player, not even Lionel Messi.
The then 33-year-old had said in this regard to O Jogo:
“I don't have rivalries against players, I never have. That's not in my ethics. Juventus will try to win every game and be as regular as possible. It was a beautiful challenge with Messi; they liked it and it was interesting. But I didn't see it as a rivalry."
Less than three years later, Ronaldo became the first to score 100 goals for Juventus in his first three seasons, winning two Serie A titles in this period.
#4 "We are not friends, but I respect him" (2017)
Eight years into his 'rivalry' with Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo had opened up about his 'relationship' with the Argentinian, a favourite topic of discourse for football fans and experts alike.
In an interview with Fox Sports Argentina as quoted by the Mirror, Ronaldo admitted that he was not 'friends' with Messi, but the pair enjoyed a cordial relationship and shared mutual respect with each other.
"In terms of my relationship with Messi," he says, "I'm not his friend, but we are colleagues. We've shared a lot of moments together in premieres over the last 10 years and I have a very good relationship with him. We don’t sit down to eat together, but I respect him. He’s a work colleague, not a rival."
In the same interaction, Ronaldo added that he enjoys watching good footballers like Messi and he 'likes' the Argentine.
"I like to see all the good footballers and he is one of them, it’s a good crack. I really enjoy seeing him play," said Ronaldo. "How would I not like someone who hasn't done anything bad - it's the opposite. When they ask Messi about Cristiano, he also talks positively about me. My relationship with him is cordial, and we have mutual respect for each other."
