Piers Morgan claims that Cristiano Ronaldo chose the best player he’s ever seen in person, even though he would have preferred to choose himself.
Ronaldo, 39, just surpassed the 900-goal milestone in the professional game and is regarded by many as the greatest player in football history.
He surpassed that historic milestone with the second goal in Portugal’s 2-1 victory over Croatia in the UEFA Nations League on Thursday.
Ronaldo, who never stays still, has already stated that he wants to score a thousand goals before he eventually retires.
The former star of Real Madrid and Manchester United is regarded by many as the best player to have ever played the game.
The only player with more Ballon d’Or victories than him is his fierce rival Lionel Messi, who has an incredible eight wins in football’s top individual award.
Ronaldo thinks Messi is the best player he has ever seen live
Journalist and TV host Morgan said in 2022 that Ronaldo had told him in a private chat that Messi was the best player he had ever seen; however, he refrained from acknowledging that the Argentinean was superior to him.
“I had a very interesting conversation with Cristiano, we had dinner after I first interviewed him three years ago, it was a really great conversation and I really like him as a person,” Morgan said on talkSPORT.
“He was incredibly respectful about Messi and I said to him, ‘Who’s the best player you’ve ever seen?’
“He said, ‘Messi, but you’re asking the wrong question, you’re not asking me who is the best player…’, because, of course, he has never seen himself play live.
“So, that made me laugh.
“But then he talked about the pair of them and the difference between them and a lot of the other greats, like R9 Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, George Best, Paul Gascoigne, he said the difference is the longevity he and Messi have had.
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“Messi and Ronaldo have had 18 or 19 years at the very top of their game, and that’s testament to their extraordinary dedication, their remarkable physical fitness and their rivalry, which has without any question driven the other to ever greater heights.
“I think it’s been one of the great rivalries of any sport ever, so we’re very lucky to have them.”