Cristiano Ronaldo has made a rare admission about the extent of his relationship with legendary on-pitch rival Lionel Messi.
The 39-year-old, who currently plays his club football for Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr, dominated the late 2000s and the entirety of the 2010s alongside Messi.
Ronaldo has five Ballon d'Or wins to Messi's eight, with the pair undoubtedly two of the greatest players to ever play football.
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They have also achieved success with their respective nations, as Messi has won two Copa Americas and a World Cup with Argentina while Ronaldo lifted the Euro 2016 title with Portugal.
Little is known about their off-field relationship, though there is a great respect between them as evidenced in several interviews.
In 2023, Ronaldo said: "If you like Cristiano, you don't have to hate Messi. The two changed the history of football and are respected."
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Now, in an interview with La Sexta, the Portugal icon has been forced to deny a long-standing rumour about the relationship between himself and Messi.
He commented: "I never had [a bad relationship with Messi]. On the contrary."
Ronaldo did not go as far as to say that there was a genuine friendship between himself and the Barcelona legend, which tallies with previous comments Messi has made on the subject.
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Speaking to Marca in 2017, Messi stated his belief that he does not know if he will ever be friends with Ronaldo - but that is not due to any animosity held between the pair.
He said: "I don't know if we will be [friends in the future].
"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, and that's the only time we speak.
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"Everything is fine, but our lives don't cross very often."
Topics: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi
Ryan Smart