'I've never seen Messi as a rival' - Ronaldo basks in Juventus victory
Cristiano Ronaldo has played down rivalry between himself and Lionel Messi, saying things have always been "cordial" between the two superstars.
Ronaldo and Messi are viewed as two of the greatest players to have ever lived, and certainly the two biggest footballing stars of the past 15 years, constantly battling each other for team and indeed individual honours.
They have won an array of league, Champions League, and Ballon d'Or trophies between them.
In the latest entry in the Ronaldo v Messi saga, Juventus faced Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday, and comfortably dispatched the Blaugrana with a 3-0 away victory, with CR7 scoring two from the penalty spot.
The pre-match build-up all surrounded the two great stars facing each other on the field again. Afterwards, with the three points in the bag, Ronaldo claimed he has never viewed Messi as a rival.
"I've always had a very cordial relationship with Messi," he told Movistar.
"I don't see him as a rival. Each of us has always looked for the best for their team."
Ronaldo believes that Juventus achieved a near "mission impossible" by defeating Barca in their own back yard without really breaking a sweat.
“We are very happy. We knew it was a nearly impossible mission to come to Camp Nou and get this result, but we did it," the Portuguese superstar told the official Juve club website.
"The key was to enter with the right spirit, after 30 minutes we were already 2-0 up and from there we understood that it was possible and we made it happen. This result can be a great confidence boost, we needed a win against a team like Barcelona, which, regardless of the difficult moment, is still a great team.
"I hope that in the next matches we can follow this path, starting with the match against Genoa.”
Thanks to the victory in Catalunya, the Bianconeri were able to top their Champions League group ahead of Barca, allowing for the possibility of a more favourable draw in the last 16.