No name in football is as big or important as Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. The two footballers who share ten Ballon d’Or titles between them are quite understandably hailed as the biggest legends that the sport has ever produced.

The 9 years between 2009 and 2018 were probably the best years in modern-day football as it pitted Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo directly against one another in La Liga.

At club level, Messi and Ronaldo represented rivals FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. ... They have the two biggest social media followings in the world among sportspeople with a combined 211 million Facebook fans in 2019, Ronaldo having 122 million and Messi 89 million.

While Messi was Barcelona’s most important player, Ronaldo played the corresponding role at Real Madrid. In June 2018, however, the Portuguese superstar bid adieu to Spain and joined Italian side Juventus, bringing down the curtains on one leg of, arguably, the biggest rivalry football has ever seen.

But the competitive spirit between the two masters continues to this date in the Champions League, but the probability of Messi-Ronaldo encounters are infinitesimally smaller. Gone are the days when one could expectantly wait for an ElClasico to witness both stars take the field against each other.

Messi admitted that he missed Ronaldo’s presence in the La Liga. “Of course I miss Ronaldo, he made Real Madrid stronger. I said that they were going to feel the exit of Cristiano, as it would have happened to any team,” Messi said.

He added: “A few people got angry but it’s a reality, he scored 50 goals per season for them and it was a key factor in their success. The whole league misses him now.”

The Argentine then went on to explain how Ronaldo’s presence made him better as a player, before providing an insight into their personal relationship with each other. “It was good for us both, we always wanted to improve ourselves.”

“We did not have much of a relationship. We knew each other only from matches and at award ceremonies, but we always had good vibes and often talk too,” he concluded.

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