Manchester United striker Cristiano Ronaldo has waxed lyrical about Paris Saint-Germain star and long-term rival Lionel Messi during his explosive TV interview with Piers Morgan.
The duo, who will both have aspirations of adding the World Cup to their respective collections of endless accolades in Qatar when the tournament starts this weekend, are widely considered as the two greatest footballers of all-time. They have dominated the sport with their glitz and glamour for almost two decades.
They spent nine years constantly battling it out with each other in Spain during Ronaldo's time at Real Madrid, both individually and collectively, with Messi trying to spearhead Barcelona's charge against the current Champions League holders. Their talents, too, have often sparked debate about who is the better player.
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Both are right to be admired for their outstanding careers, which have seen them win just about everything that any footballer can possibly lay their hands on. But despite their on-field rivalry in recent years, both of them have huge respect for each other.
"He is an amazing player," Ronaldo told TalkTV, hailing Messi. "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.
"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."
Watch Piers Morgan Uncensored: 90 Minutes with Ronaldo on TalkTV or on YouTube at 8pm on Thursday evening. Find TalkTV on Sky 526, Virgin Media 606, Freeview 237, Freesat 217 and Sky Glass 508, live and on demand on the TalkTV app, streaming services and at Talk.TV
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