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Cristiano Ronaldo Names Lionel Messi His Most-Admired Rival, Talks ‘Haters’
- Updated: October 27, 2016
Cristiano Ronaldo has hailed Lionel Messi as the opposition player he most admires and played down the rivalry between him and the Barcelona star.
He also credited his “haters” with pushing him on to achieve greatness.
The Real Madrid superstar is the strong favourite to win the 2016 Ballon d’Or—the nominees were announced earlier this week—having won the UEFA Champions League with Los Blancos and UEFA Euro 2016 with Portugal.
The Ballon d’Or nominees are set: Who ya got? pic.twitter.com/ZShMkmQGAb
— Bleacher Report UK (@br_uk) October 24, 2016
If Ronaldo does win the gong for a fourth time he will succeed Messi as the holder and extend the duo’s stranglehold on the prestigious award to nine consecutive years.
When asked which opponent he most admired, the 31-year-old acknowledged the Argentinian and said he has great respect for his longtime rival, per Coach magazine’s Diego Jokas: “There is a big mutual respect between myself and Lionel Messi. …
