Cristiano Ronaldo has distanced himself from his rivalry with Lionel Messi after Juventus trounced Barcelona in Tuesday’s Champions League encounter, saying that he has always had a ‘cordial’ relationship with the Argentine star.
Ronaldo, 35, scored twice from the penalty spot as his Juventus side left the Camp Nou with a 3-0 win in a game billed as a rekindling of a feud between the two icons who have duelled to win 11 of the last 12 Ballon d’Or awards – and after his first showdown with Messi in more than two years, Ronaldo told the media after the game that the media obsession with their relationship is overblown.
“I have always had a cordial relationship with Messi,” Ronaldo said. “As I have said before, for 12, 13, 14 years [I have been] sharing prizes with him.
“I never saw him as a rival. He always tried the best for his team, and I tried the best for mine. I always got on well with him. I am sure he will say the same if you ask him.
“But we know in football, people always look for a rivalry to create more excitement.”
Despite Ronaldo’s magnanimous statement, it it difficult to overlook the rivalry between the two standout players of their generation, particularly given that it was a central theme to one of football’s most enduring rivalries throughout the last decade – ‘El Clasico’.
However, Tuesday’s meeting between the two sides saw serial winners Ronaldo and Messi collide amid unusually slow starts to their domestic campaigns. Italian champions Juventus currently stand fourth in Serie A while Ronald Koeman’s Barca remain mired in tenth position in La Liga, a far cry from the dominance both sides – and their prized assets Ronaldo and Messi – are accustomed to.
Ronaldo noted after the game that his side’s result could provide an “injection of confidence” for a Juve side who have appeared uncharacteristically vulnerable in recent weeks, but also backed Messi and Barcelona to emerge from a prolonged period of below-par results.
“Messi is the same as ever [on the pitch],” Ronaldo said. “Barcelona are in a difficult moment, but they are still Barca. I am sure they will come out of it. All teams have bad runs, but Barcelona are a very good team.”
The defeat for Barcelona – their first in the Champions League group stages since 2016 – didn’t prove costly as qualification to the knockout stages had already been assured, but one suspects that the majority of the Europe’s elite clubs won’t be too fearful of being drawn against Koeman’s under-fire side, regardless of Ronaldo’s endorsement of Messi’s form.
In fact, according to Koeman late on Tuesday, it was his team who looked afraid.
“We weren’t aggressive,” the Dutchman said.
“It looked as if we’d come out looking not to lose, as opposed to trying to control the game. We weren’t good, not even positionally.
“We looked scared.”
