"The toughest opponent I’ve ever faced" - When Cristiano Ronaldo's best friend Marcelo heaped praise on Lionel Messi

Cristiano Ronaldo's good friend Marcelo once lavished praise on Barcelona legend Lionel Messi.

It's pertinent to note that the former Real Madrid left-back came up against Messi many times during El Clasico when he was at the Santiago Bernabeu between the 2006-07 and 2021-22 seasons.

Marcelo often came up on the losing side in 31 meetings with Messi's Barca during this period, winning only nine of 31 meetings and losing 15. Nevertheless, there's no respect lost for the Argentine despite being El Clasico rivals for nearly two decades.

The Brazilian told the Athletic (as per a GOAL article in September 2023) that Messi is 'incredible', elaborating:

"Messi is incredible, the toughest opponent I’ve ever faced. We all know the quality he has even now, aged 35, and before it was the same. El Clasico has always been one of the best games to watch and play.

"I was lucky enough to have featured in one of the best eras of Clasicos. But it wasn’t just Messi, there were other players who were also incredible.”

Marcelo and Madrid legend Ronaldo together faced Lionel Messi's Barca during the Portuguese's stint in the Spanish capital between 2009 and 2018.

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What did Marcelo say about Lionel Messi's arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo?

Cristiano Ronaldo

During the aforementioned interview, Marcelo also spoke about Ronaldo, with whom he enjoyed a lot of success, winning four UEFA Champions League and two La Liga titles, among others.

It's pertinent to note that the Al-Nassr striker, 39, is Los Blancos' all-time top-scorer with 450 goals in 438 games across competitions during a glorious near decade-long stint at the Bernabeu.

“There were a lot of videos of Cris and I doing jokes in training, the celebration (“Siuuuh!”) and so on, but Sergio (Ramos), Casemiro, Luka (Modric), Karim (Benzema), Marcelo said.

"I have a lot of friends in football. Of course, what came out was always about Cristiano and the celebration and it’s super normal, but I have other friends as well with whom I do things outside of football.”

Cristiano Ronaldo is going great guns with Al-Nassr, bagging 36 goals and 12 assists in 35 games across competitions this season. Lionel Messi, meanwhile, is off to five goals and two assists in five games across competitions for the season with Inter Miami.