Cristiano Ronaldo has shared one of football's greatest rivalries with Argentine Lionel Messi. Even in the now-infamous interview with Piers Morgan, Ronaldo talked about Messi as someone who he respects like a teammate.
"Amazing player, he is magic, top," Ronaldo explained on Piers Morgan Uncensored. "As a person, we share the stage 16 years, imagine, 16 years, we share. So, I have great relationship with him."
"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. Even his wife or my wife, my girlfriend, they always respect and they're from Argentina. My girlfriend is from Argentina. So good. What I am going to say about Messi? A good guy who does everything for football."
Between 2008 to 2021, Ronaldo and Messi won the Ballon d'Or 12 times out of 13, with Luka Modric in 2018 being the only player to win the award at their expense.
"Probably the best player I've ever seen (excluding myself) and maybe Zidane. That I play and fight with, yes."
Ronaldo, who recently scored his 700th club goal, was angling for a move in the summer window after United failed to qualify for this season's Champions League.
But Premier League and European giants opted not to move for a player who was once the hottest property in world football, leaving him stuck at United.