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Topics: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Zinedine Zidane, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Erik Ten Hag, Ballon d'Or
Cristiano Ronaldo named the one player alongside Lionel Messi he believes is the greatest of all time.
Ronaldo and Messi have dominated the last two decades of football, with the pair having racked up a collective 13 Ballon dOrs (Messi - eight, Ronaldo - five).
While they are widely considered among the best players in history, Ronaldo once named a third player he believes rivals them as the greatest of all time.
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In a bombshell TalkTV interview with Piers Morgan in November 2022, Ronaldo made headlines for his criticism of then Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag, the club’s majority owners The Glazers and former team-mates Gary Neville and Wayne Rooney.
However, the Portugal international’s comments on long-time rival Messi and the greatest players in history also caused a stir.
When Morgan asked Ronaldo about the best player he’d ever seen, excluding himself, the Portugal star said: “Probably [Messi], yes.
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“Him [and Zinedine] Zidane probably - that I have played and fought with.”
Zidane is a modern great, having led France to World Cup and European Championship glory in 1998 and 2000. He also managed Ronaldo to three consecutive Champions Leagues at Real Madrid.
On Messi, Ronaldo insisted that there was no animosity between the pair and likened their relationship to that of a teammate.
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He said: “Amazing player, he is magic. As a person, we share the stage 16 years, imagine, 16 years. we share.
“So, I have a great relationship with him. I'm not a friend of his in terms of, what I mean friend is the guy who was 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 great guy who does great things for football.”