Cristiano Ronaldo: 'I have a great relationship with Lionel Messi'

Cristiano Ronaldo has branded Lionel Messi "an amazing player" and said that he has a "great relationship" with the Argentine.

The pair are widely regarded as two of the best players in the history of football, and they locked horns on a number of occasions during their time in Spain with Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively.

Ronaldo left Real Madrid in 2018 to join Juventus, spending three years with the club before securing a return to Manchester United in the summer of 2021.

Messi, meanwhile, left Barcelona on a free transfer in 2021 before penning a two-year deal with Paris Saint-Germain.

Much has been written about the supposed rivalry that exists between the two players, but Ronaldo lavished praise on the 35-year-old when asked about him during his countervail interview with Piers Morgan on TalkTV.

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"He is an amazing player. Magic. Top. As a person, we share the stage 16 years. Imagine 16 years. So, I have great relationship with him. I'm not a friend of him, in terms of what I mean as a friend who was with you in your house or speaking on the phone," said Ronaldo.

"No, but it's like a teammate. 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 have 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."

Ronaldo is the leading goalscorer in the history of the Champions League, finding the back of the net on 140 occasions in the competition, 11 more than Messi, who is still active in this season's European Cup with PSG.

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During his interview with Morgan, the attacker also claimed that he is planning to play for another two or three years more, but he is expected to leave Man United after the 2022 World Cup.

"I want to play two years more, three years more. So two or three years maximum. I want to finish at 40. I think 40 will be a good age... but I don't know, I don't know the future," he said.

"Sometimes you plan one thing for your life and as I said many times, the life is dynamic and you never know what's going to happen."

Ronaldo has a contract with the 20-time English champions until the end of the campaign, but he is unlikely to be with the club beyond the end of the January transfer window.

The forward has only scored three goals in 16 appearances for Erik ten Hag's side this term.