Messi proves he hasn’t forgotten his rivalry with Cristiano Ronaldo

Years go by, yet the comparisons between Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo never fade. They are the only footballers in history to surpass the 900-goal mark, and both continue to compete for titles, albeit now far from the European elite where they built their legacies. The Argentine star leads Inter Miami in the MLS, the reigning champions of American soccer, while the Portuguese forward still has two trophies within reach with Al Nassr.

Messi is currently Inter Miami’s all-time leading scorer and, this season, has already found the net eight times. Only Sam Surridge (9), Petar Musa (10) and Hugo Cuypers (10) sit ahead of him in the race for another Golden Boot. Still, the captain of Las Garzas knows there is room for improvement as the campaign progresses, with the ultimate goal of arriving at the World Cup in peak form to defend his title with Argentina.

In an exclusive interview with Pollo Álvarez on Lo del Pollo, Messi reflected on several topics, including his long-standing rivalry with Cristiano Ronaldo.

“It’s part of the football world. It’s normal. He was at Real Madrid, I was at Barça. The derby, both of us fighting for team and individual titles, and people in football always saw it as a competition, choosing one thing over another. But it’s something natural that comes from the football environment, just like with clubs or national teams. In the end, it’s simply a sporting matter, something that happened at that time, just like today when people compare players from different teams, deciding who they like more or less,” explained the Argentine number 10.

“Over time, we both achieved so many important things, on his side and on mine, that the rivalry grew even bigger. We’ve always said the same thing: we never had a close relationship because we rarely crossed paths. We would see each other during matches or at events, especially award ceremonies, where we were always competing to see who would win, but it was always respectful. Now, we’re far apart and at different stages of life, but it never stopped being a sporting rivalry. It was something huge that people really enjoyed, much more than simply one against the other. That competition was incredibly intense,” the Inter Miami star added.

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