CRISTIANO RONALDO revealed he ‘by no means noticed Lionel Messi as a rival’ after his Juventus facet beat Barcelona on the Nou Camp on Tuesday evening.
The megastars confronted one another for the primary time since Ronnie left Actual Madrid in 2018 as Juventus topped Champions League Group G with a 3-0 win.
Cristiano Ronaldo says he by no means noticed Lionel Messi as a rivalCredit score: Reuters
Portuguese ace Ronaldo labelled Barca the ‘finest workforce he ever confronted’ after the sport.
And the 35-year-old additionally revealed he has at all times ‘received alongside properly’ with Barcelona wantaway Messi, 33.
The previous Manchester United star scored twice from the penalty spot either side of Weston McKennie’s acrobatic effort to seal the win.
And talking afterwards, Ronaldo stated: “I’ve at all times had a really cordial relationship with him [Messi].
“I shared 12, 13 or 14 years of award ceremonies with him. I by no means noticed him as a rival.
“He at all times tries to do what’s finest for his workforce and me too. I at all times received alongside very properly with him.
“However we all know that in soccer, for the press, for the present, a rivalry is sought, however I’ve at all times gotten alongside properly with him.”
Barca completed second within the group and nonetheless certified for the knockout stage however are in determined bother in LaLiga.
And the Portuguese megastar additionally heaped reward on Barcelona after his Juventus facet beat them within the Champions LeagueCredit score: https://www.instagram.com/cristiano/
They sit ninth and simply three factors above the RELEGATION zone.
However regardless of the Catalans’ woes, Ronaldo nonetheless confirmed respect for them after his facet’s win.
Alongside a post-match image of the Juve squad celebrating within the altering room he wrote: “All the time nice to return to Spain and to Catalunya.
“All the time laborious to play in Camp Nou in opposition to probably the greatest groups I ever confronted.
“At the moment we had been a workforce of Champions. A real, robust and united household.
“Enjoying like this, we’ve got nothing to concern till the top of the season. Let’s go.”
He additionally instructed the media: “Barcelona are going via a tough time, however it’s nonetheless Barcelona.
“The reality is that we’re very joyful, we knew it was an virtually inconceivable mission, it was a sophisticated mission and we performed properly.
“The important thing was to get into the sport properly, we scored two early and from there we believed it was attainable.”
Ronaldo’s opener on the Nou Camp was the first time ever he had scored against Messi in the Champions League.
Forward of the sport, BT Sport ramped up the hype by publishing an evocative montage detailing the pair’s face to face battles over time.
Former Barcelona man Gary Lineker narrated the collection of highlights, stats, quotes and drama and the clip is 210 seconds of pure ardour.
Messi and Ronaldo’s battle to be topped the GOAT continues to rage on
