Ronaldo Announces Rival With Messi Over; Urges Fans Not ‘Hate One And Like The Other’; Says Both Changed History Of World Football

By Daniel Ojukwu

Al Nassr and Portuguese forward, Cristiano Ronaldo has announced that his rivalry with the Argentine football icon and Inter Miami captain Lionel Messi is over

The 38-year-old said the ‘battle’ with Messi over the years was a healthy one, and the spectators loved it and as from now on fans do not have to ‘hate one and like the other.’

.’ “I don’t see things like that; the rivalry is over. It was a healthy rivalry, and the spectators liked it a lot. “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,” Ronaldo said

“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,” the Portugal football legend added

The Portugal forward recently scored his 850th senior career goal for club and country and said he never thought he would achieve the feat.

 “The 850 goals are a historic achievement. It was a surprise for me, I never thought I would reach them. But I want more, I want to be at the top, to think big. I want to thank those who helped me, all the clubs where I played and the national team.”

Ronaldo and Messi faced each other for many years in Europe for Real Madrid and Barcelona, respectively, in the El Clasico.