According to Cristiano Ronaldo, he has a "great" relationship with Lionel Messi, who he acknowledges is "amazing," despite the fact that they are not necessarily close friends.
The Manchester United forward was extremely critical of his team, manager, and younger team members during his TV interview with Piers Morgan, which has caused a great deal of controversy.
Messi, who was his main rival throughout his career and with whom he had a long-running rivalry for the title of the best player in the world, was the only person he had good things to say about.
When questioned by Morgan about the PSG player, Ronaldo praised both his footballing prowess and the way he conducts himself off the field.
“He is an amazing player. Magic. Top," he told Morgan on Talk TV.
"As a person, we share the stage for 16 years. Imagine 16 years. So, I have a great relationship with him.
"I am not a friend of his, in the sense that someone who always spends at my house or talking on the phone. But he is like a teammate – a guy I really respect. I like the way he speaks about me.
"Even his wife and my girlfriend, always respect each other. They are from Argentina. So it is all good. He is a good guy, he does everything for football."
When asked whether Messi was the best player ever asides from himself, Ronaldo said it was either the Argentine or Zinedine Zidane, his former manager at Real Madrid.
"Probably, yes," he said. "Zidane is there, probably. But yes."