Competing with Messi made both of us better, admits Cristiano Ronaldo

In the end, both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will go down as arguably the greatest players to ever play football. The number of trophies, individual honours and goals scored by the two men may never be surpassed and that alone ensures their legacy. But it's not yet over despite lingering doubts over fitness issues for both men and how much longer they can keep playing at the highest level. Ronaldo moved to Juventus last summer but before moving to Italy he spent 9 years at Real Madrid, while Messi remains at Barcelona.

And yet Cristiano Ronaldo has admitted that the rivalry with Lionel Messi has shaped him as a better player and a human. The Portuguese legend went on to add that Messi’s incredible success with Barcelona pushed Ronaldo to continue striving for success and vice versa. Both men have won the coveted Ballon d'Or five times and are considered to be two of the greatest players of all time. Messi recently acknowledged the pair spurred each other on in their quest for individual honours and he misses the Portuguese in Sapin.

“A lot of people said that we fed each other, that being together in Spain made us better. That's certainly true. I felt his presence more in Madrid than in Manchester. It was a healthy rivalry. We were the symbols of our clubs. It's always nice to be spoken of in a flattering way. It's nice if they say I've been the best, a fantastic player. Today, I hear everything they say about me, but when it's all over, at the end of my career, I won't mind because I'll disconnect from everything,” said Ronaldo to the Goal.

The former Manchester United star has been known for the incredible work he puts day in day out to maintain his level of productivity. The 34-year-old recently netted his 700th career goal in Portugal’s defeat to Ukraine in the Euro 2020 qualifiers with a massive chunk of that scored for Manchester United, Sporting CP and 450 of those 700 scored during his 9-year spell at Santiago Bernabeu.

“First of all, you need talent, otherwise you won't amount t omuch. However, talent is useless without hard work. I would never have got to where I am today without the culture of hard work. Reaching 700 goals make me proud - it's an impressive total that few players have reached. If I had to choose a favourite, I would say the one against Juventus because it was a goal I'd been trying to score for years,” concluded the 5-time Champions League winner.