Despite Years of Rivalry Lionel Messi Clears the Air About His Personal Equation With Cristiano Ronaldo.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the two icons who have defined modern football, have long been portrayed as fierce rivals. The duo’s on-field competition has captivated fans for over a decade. However, Messi recently shed light on their off-field dynamic.
He revealed that there’s no real friendship but plenty of respect. In a recent interview with DSports, the Inter Miami forward stated: “I have a lot of respect and admiration for Cristiano Ronaldo and for the career he’s had and continues to have, because he’s still competing at the highest level.”
The Inter Miami forward led the MLS team to create history in Club World Club recently. With an amazing free kick goal from Messi, Inter Miami defeated Porto, an European heavyweight for the first time in their history. Following that match, Messi clarified that his legendary rivalry with Ronaldo was strictly professional.
He added, “The competition with him was on the pitch. Each of us wanted to do the best for our team. Obviously, as always, everything stayed on the field. We’re not friends obviously because we don’t spend time together, but we’ve always treated each other with a lot of respect.”
Also Read: How Did Botafogo Orchestrate One of the Biggest Upsets of the FIFA Club World Cup?
This sentiment was echoed by Ronaldo earlier this year in an interview with El Chiringuito. In that interview, he said: “I have a good relationship with Leo Messi… It was a healthy rivalry, we got along.” The two greats also said previously how they motivated each other in their careers throughout the years.
Messi with Barcelona, Ronaldo with Real Madrid, shared countless iconic moments during their time in La Liga. The two footballing giants are now play continents apart. Messi stars in the MLS with Inter Miami, while Ronaldo leads Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia.
Despite rarely crossing paths now, the admiration between the two clearly has remained intact. Messi had told Marca in 2017, “Friendship is built through spending time together and getting to know each other. We have no relationship, mainly because we only see each other at awards ceremonies.”
Between them, they’ve won 13 Ballon d’Ors, scored nearly 2,000 goals, and redefined greatness. The possibility of them ever playing together remains remote. Additionally, with Messi turning 38 and Ronaldo already 40, fans may only get one last glimpse of the pair on the same pitch—possibly at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
soccer
