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Ardent Cristiano Ronaldo fan Piers Morgan took a dig at Lionel Messi after he won the MARCA America Award for being the greatest player in football history. The Spanish news outlet presented Messi with the award on October 17 at the Chase Stadium in Miami.
British journalist Piers Morgan has been an ardent admirer of Messi's archrival, Ronaldo, for years. The broadcaster famously interviewed the Portuguese legend ahead of the 2022 World Cup, where the latter addressed his grievances against his club at the time, Manchester United.
On October 17, Piers Morgan quoted a post on X that said MARCA had declared Lionel Messi as the greatest of all time. Cristiano Ronaldo was ranked second, while Pele was named third. Morgan wrote:
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"Messi’s not even the greatest Argentinian player of all time."
In a follow-up tweet, Morgan shared his personal ranking of the top three greatest footballers of all time, ranking Cristiano Ronaldo first, Ronaldo Nazario second, and Diego Maradona third.
"He is magic" - When Cristiano Ronaldo heaped praise on Lionel Messi in his 2022 interview with Piers Morgan
In his explosive interview with Piers Morgan in 2022, Cristiano Ronaldo was asked to share his opinion on longtime rival Lionel Messi. The Portuguese superstar praised the Argentine legend, and said (via GOAL):
“Amazing player, he is magic, top. As a person, we share the stage 16 years, imagine, 16 years, we share. So, I have great relationship with him."
The Al-Nassr star clarified that he's not friends with Lionel Messi, adding:
"I'm not friend of him in terms of, what I mean is a friend is the guy who is with you in your house, speaking on the phone, no, but it's like a team-mate. He’s a guy that I really respect the way he always speaks about me. (...) A good guy who does everything for football."
The Portuguese legend's rivalry with Lionel Messi reached its peak between 2009 and 2018, when the two played for rival clubs Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively. The Portuguese talisman left Real Madrid in 2018 to join Serie A side Juventus, while Messi left Barcelona in 2021 to join Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).
The duo have faced each other 36 times in club and international fixtures. Lionel Messi has registered 16 wins, nine draws and 11 losses against the Portuguese talisman. These notably include seven finals, along with Barcelona's iconic 2-0 win over Manchester United in the 2008-09 Champions League final. The other games are five Supercopa de Espana finals and one Copa del Rey final.
The duo last squared off in the UEFA Champions League group stage in the 2020-21 season, when Juventus won 3-0 against Barcelona. The Portuguese star's current club Al-Nassr defeated Messi's Inter Miami 6-0 in a friendly in February this year, but neither Messi nor Ronaldo started the match.
