Cristiano Ronaldo said he really admires Lionel Messi's career and the way he has pushed him to improve his own game.
Ronaldo and Messi are widely regarded as two of the best footballers of a generation, and have won 11 Ballon d'Or awards between them.
At the peak of their rivalry the duo were playing at Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively, where they both won La Liga titles and Champions League trophies.
Ronaldo and Messi have spoken out on each other on occasion, and admitted that while they are rivals they have a deep respect for what the other has achieved.
Ronaldo previously told RMC Sport: "I really admire the career he has had so far. He has already said that he had trouble when I left the Spanish league because it is a rivalry that he appreciates.
"It is a good rivalry that exists in football, but this is no exception. Michael Jordan had rivals in basketball, Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost were great rivals in Formula One.
"The only common point between all the big rivalries in the sport is that they are healthy."
As aforementioned, Messi has also previously spoken out on Ronaldo.
After the Portuguese left Real Madrid for Juventus, he said: "It was nice to play against Cristiano, he made Madrid a stronger side. I said at the beginning of the season that Madrid would miss him, as any team would.
"It made a lot of Madrid fans a bit angry but that is the reality. Any team would miss him. He scores 50 goals a season and he was the key player for them, of course they were going to miss that."
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