Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are not friends, the Barcelona legend has confirmed.
Messi is currently at the Club World Cup with Major League Soccer side Inter Miami, while Ronaldo is not participating in the expanded tournament.
There were offers for Ronaldo to play in the United States, but the Portuguese star chose to stay with Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr.
It would have been great if Ronaldo had moved clubs and faced Messi at the Club World Cup — though the game probably would have been on at 2am in the United Kingdom anyway.
The pair were rivals in Spain between 2009 and 2018, when Messi played for Barcelona and Ronaldo for Real Madrid.
After scoring a spectacular free-kick to earn Inter Miami a 2-1 win over Porto at the Club World Cup, Messi was asked about his greatest rival. He spoke highly of Ronaldo, but made clear the pair are “not friends.”
“The competition between us took place on the pitch, and each of us tried to give the best of ourselves for our team, at every moment and in every place where we were.
“But of course, all this remains, as always, on the ground. Then we become two normal people again.
“We’re not friends, of course, because we don’t spend time together. But what we share is always done within a framework of great respect.
“I have immense admiration for what he has achieved in his career, and for what he continues to do, because he still plays at the highest level.
“There is nothing strange about this; it is normal, and this is how things should always be.”
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After Messi’s outstanding winner against Porto, Miami head coach Javier Mascherano praised his former Argentina and Barca team-mate’s hunger and resilience.
“[Messi] is the player that leads us in the ways we have to compete,” Mascherano said. His hunger, his resilience, his will to go on competing, at whatever level that may be.
“In football terms, what else can I add? He’s the best player ever to play this sport. But his determination to win is always surprising.
“Even in the last minutes, when everyone is tired, he continued to support the team in any way he could.”
Meanwhile, Messi said: “Not only did we defend, but we managed the ball well. We had a sour taste after the game against Al Ahly. This is a very important victory, and we’ll enjoy it.
“It is being seen that we want to compete; we competed against a good team, and here and there, we gave away the first half. The young guys had nerves playing in this competition for the first time.”