Ronaldo
recently claimed the difference between Messi and himself is that he has won
the Champions League with different clubs. Herewith a compilation of all of
Ronaldo's comments about Messi.
Prior
to the 2009 Champions League final between Manchester United and Barcelona,
Ronaldo claimed he would remain the world's best player regardless of the
outcome of the final. Ronaldo went on to be crowned World Player of the Year
for 2008 ahead of Messi.
“It made
me proud to be recognised as the best. I always believed I was the best, but it
was an honour to become the official number one - and I still think I am at the
top,” Ronaldo said, per Sky Sports.
"Sometimes
it is clear that if it is a close fight between two players for the European or
world player of the year then winning the Champions League can decide the
outcome.
"I
won it last year because Manchester United won the Champions League and the
Premier League, but I also won it because I scored 42 goals myself.”
May 2012
| ‘I’m better than Messi’
Real
Madrid beat Barcelona to carry the Liga crown in 2012, and Ronaldo again
asserted his belief that he was better than Messi.
“Some
people say I'm better, other people say it's him, but at the end of the day,
they're going to decide who is the best player," Ronaldo told CNN.
"At
the moment ... I think it is me.
"Sometimes
(the comparisons with Messi) makes me tired ... for him too because they
compare us together all the time.
"You
cannot compare a Ferrari with a Porsche because it's a different engine. You
cannot compare them.
“He does
the best things for Barcelona, I do the best things for Madrid.
"I
think we push each other sometimes in the competition, this is why the
competition is so high.”
In an
interview with Marca in 2014, when asked if he shared a difficult relationship
with Messi, Ronaldo replied: “It's not like that at all.
“We're
colleagues. We're work friends, so to speak, and so, obviously, we don't have a
relationship outside the world of football, just as we don't with a lot of
other players.
“He tries
to do his best for his club and for his national team, as I do, and there is a
degree of rivalry with both of us trying to do the best for the teams we
represent.”
“Football
is a great thing that everyone likes to watch. We have to look on this rivalry
with a positive spirit, because it's a good thing.”
Talking
to Fox Sports Argentina, Ronaldo admitted he wasn't friends with Messi but has
respect for the forward and enjoys watching him play.
“In terms
of my relationship with Messi, I'm not his friend but we are colleagues,”
Ronaldo said, per the Mirror.
“We've
shared a lot of moments together in premieres over the last 10 years and I have
a very good relationship with him.
“We don’t
sit down to eat together, but I respect him. He’s a work colleague, not a
rival.
“I like
to see all the good footballers and he is one of them, it’s a good crack. I
really enjoy seeing him play.
“How
would I not like someone who hasn't done anything bad - it's the opposite. When
they ask Messi about Cristiano, he also talks positively about me.
“My
relationship with him is cordial and we have mutual respect for each
other."
July 2018
| ‘I don’t consider Messi a rival’
Following
his £99.2 million move to Juventus last summer, Ronaldo talked about his
rivalry or not-a-rivalry with Messi in his first press conference.
"I
don't have rivalries against players," he said, per O Jogo. "That's not part of my
ethics.
"It
was a good challenge against Messi, you all enjoyed it and it was interesting.
But I never thought of it as a rivalry."
October
2018 | 'Only Messi and I could be at the top for 10 years'
Ronaldo
chose to praise his counterpart this time. "How many players are capable
of playing at the highest level for more than 10 years?
“You
count them on one hand. There are two, Messi and I,” Ronaldo told France
Football, per Sport.
The Juve
No.7 sent Messi a challenge last December, asking him to leave La Liga and join
Serie A.
“I’ve
played in England, Spain, Italy, Portugal and for my national team, while he’s
still in Spain,” Ronaldo told Gazzetta dello Sport, per the Independent.
“Maybe he
needs me more... For me, life is a challenge, I like it and I like to make
people happy.
“I’d like
him to come to Italy one day. I hope he accepts the challenge like me, but if
he’s happy there then I respect that.”
August
2019 | ‘The difference? I’ve won the Champions League with more than one club’
In
Ronaldo's eyes, he and Messi's Champions League records should be used to tell
the pair apart.
"The
difference with me is that I've played for different clubs and I also won the
Champions League with different clubs," he told DAZN.
“I was
the top scorer in the Champions League six times in a row.”
Do you
think the Juve star will be talking about the Barcelona ace anytime soon?
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