'It was very funny' - Cristiano Ronaldo shows true colours with Lionel Messi admission
Cristiano Ronaldo has spoken openly about the relationship he has with long-term contemporary Lionel Messi.
Regarded as two of the best players in history, Ronaldo and Messi have 13 Ballon d'Or awards between them throughout their record-breaking careers - in addition to further individual and countless team honours across several top-five European divisions. Manchester United legend Ronaldo always held a rivalry with the Argentine playmaker - especially during their time in Spain.
The duo played against each other countless times during their time in La Liga with Messi, of course, representing Real Madrid's arch rivals, Barcelona. The Argentinian, who spent 17 years at Camp Nou after progressing from the youth ranks of Barca, amassed an impressive collection of ten La Liga titles, seven Copa del Reys and Supercopa de Espanas each.
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During Ronaldo's nine-year stint at the Santiago Bernabeu, meanwhile, he secured a number of impressive records, becoming the club's all-time leading goalscorer with 450 in 438 appearances. He won 16 trophies for Los Blancos as well as countless individual accolades.
Both players fed off each other but, in an interview with Spanish outlet La Sexta, Ronaldo stressed he never had an unhealthy relationship with Messi. "I've never had a bad relationship with Lionel Messi," he said.
"We shared 15 years of trophies on the stage and we always got along well. I remember that during ceremonies, I used to translate what people were saying and asking him in English and it was always very funny. He defended his club and I defended mine and his national team, and I defended mine.
"We fed back to each other. He wanted to play everything and so did I, we both wanted to score goals so it was a healthy fight."
Asked whether it would be good to see those numbers again in football, Ronaldo added: "It would be great for football if we could see those numbers again - you never know but I think it's very complicated. But it's possible, you never know. We'll see."
