Portuguese forward, Cristiano Ronaldo, has declared an end to the rivalry between him and Argentine forward, Lionel Messi.
Addressing a press conference on Wednesday before training with the national side at Oeiras, on the outskirts of Lisbon, ahead of upcoming European Championship qualifiers, the Al Nassr forward said the “rivalry is over”.
He said, “Whoever likes Cristiano Ronaldo doesn’t have to hate Messi and vice versa, because they are both very good. We’ve done well; we have changed the history of football, and we’ll keep on doing it. We are respected all over the world; that’s the most important thing.
“He makes his way; I make mine, even if we’re playing outside Europe. From what I’ve seen, he has done well, and so have I. It’s about continuing; the legacy continues.
“I’ve said there’s no rivalry. We’ve shared the stage for 15 years, and we ended up being—I wouldn’t say friends—because I never dined with him. We are professional colleagues, and we respect each other.”
Ronaldo recently scored his 850th senior career goal for club and country and said he never thought he would achieve the feat.
Ronaldo and Messi faced each other for many years in Europe for Real Madrid and Barcelona, respectively, in the El Clasico.
