Former Barcelona defender Dani Alves has admitted that he found it 'difficult' to mark Cristiano Ronaldo, describing the Portuguese international as a 'b******' who 'didn't let you breathe'.
Alves played against the Manchester United star on multiple occasions when Ronaldo was playing for Real Madrid - with the pair going head-to-head 30 times throughout their respective careers.
Ronaldo used to play on the left-wing for the LaLiga giants and would directly come up against Alves, who was the Barcelona right-back for nine campaigns.
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Brazilian defender Alves, who is currently playing for Mexican outfit Pumas, has described Ronaldo as one of the hardest opponents he has faced in his career.
In an Marca interview with Hugo Sanchez, Alves said: "Cristiano Ronaldo, this b*****d doesn't let you breathe for a second. I didn't do too badly, but it's difficult. He's a scoring machine."
During his time at the Bernabeu, Ronaldo lifted the Champions League on four occasions. He also scored a staggering 450 goals in 438 games for Los Blancos before moving to Juventus in 2018.
Alves was also asked to decide who is the greatest player of all time between former Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi and Brazilian legend Pele - with Ronaldo not one of the options.
"I choose Pele for one reason: he changed football. Messi changed a generation. All those people who are more than football, I'm going to choose them. And besides, I'm Brazilian," said Alves.
"For me, Pele should not be part of this debate. If you ask me, who is the best player in history? I would say Messi. Pele doesn't come into it."
Ronaldo scored his first goal of the season for United on Thursday night, bagging from the penalty spot in Erik ten Hag's side's Europa League win over Sheriff.
The 37-year-old veteran converted from the spot in the 39th minute, before being replaced in the second period by Anthony Elanga.
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