Cristiano Ronaldo says Lionel Messi is the player he most admires

Cristiano Ronaldo was asked what player he admires the most. Can you guess who it is? Would it be former Portugal stars Luis Figo or the late, great Eusebio? Maybe it is someone who took him under his wings during his Manchester United days or some Real Madrid midfielder who feeds him with assists. Nope. He picked Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi, according to a sit down Q&A he had with Coach Magazine.

“There is a big mutual respect between myself and Lionel Messi. The media like to make out like we have this big rivalry, but we don’t,” Ronaldo said. “It is not like we are good friends, but there is a mutual respect on both sides.”

The two best players in the world playing for rival clubs, the natural rivalry between the two has been well documented. They have each won everything with their respective clubs and have combined to win every Ballon d’Or award since 2008. Messi has five and Ronaldo has three.

It was a surprising response to the question by Ronaldo and admirable of him to pick Messi, someone who many players look up to and admire.