Messi: Ronaldo Rivalry Doesn't Go Beyond Football
Lionel Messi says his rivalry with fellow Best FIFA Men's Player award finalist Cristiano Ronaldo doesn't go beyond the pitch
Lionel Messi says his rivalry with Cristiano Ronaldo is only on the pitch.
Messi and Ronaldo were seen chatting at August's UEFA awards ceremony as Virgil van Dijk claimed the Men's Player of the Year award.
The same trio were nominated for the Best FIFA Men's Player award with Messi pipping Van Dijk into second and Ronaldo in third at Monday's Milan prizegiving.
Messi and Ronaldo have each won five Ballons d'Or having spent their careers vying for individual honours, as well as for team trophies with Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively.
Released results for the Best FIFA Men's Player award showed Messi put Ronaldo second in his vote while the Portugal superstar did not include the Barcelona captain in his selection.
Asked why people are surprised to see him getting along with Ronaldo, Messi told FIFA's official website: "Because of the big sporting rivalry that's developed between us over the last few years. Because one us played for Barcelona and the other for Madrid, and because we won individual awards.
"People perhaps think the rivalry goes beyond football, but it doesn’t. We both want what’s best for our teams and neither of us like losing. It's something we don't accept.
"That's why there's that competitiveness between us. The important thing is that it stays there, out on the pitch."
