Lionel Messi’s keen interest in the career of his long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo became evident when the Argentine superstar asked a question that highlighted their intense rivalry, according to former Ghana international Kevin-Prince Boateng.
Ronaldo joined Juventus in the summer of 2018. This move came after nine years of fierce competition with Messi while he was at Real Madrid.
Messi was still at Barcelona at that time when he saw Boateng join him at Camp Nou in 2019. The superstar duo’s quest for recognition as the greatest of all time (GOAT) has been a central theme in their careers, and Messi was eager to gauge how Ronaldo would fare in Serie A.
Boateng, who had a brief loan spell at Barcelona, shared the behind-the-scenes interaction on Rio Ferdinand’s FIVE YouTube channel, saying, “He [Messi] is the captain but doesn’t speak. We spoke one time in the shower because he asked if it’s difficult to score in Italy because Ronaldo was there at that time, and he showed the rivalry between them. I told him that it was more difficult that Ronaldo was there, and he scored every game for three years. People forget too easily what he’s done there.”
During his time at Juventus, Ronaldo scored an impressive 101 goals in 134 appearances before returning to Manchester United in 2021.
Messi, on the other hand, left Barcelona after a lengthy spell and joined PSG n as a free agent. He has since moved on to Inter Miami in MLS, while Ronaldo started a trend of prominent footballers heading to Saudi Arabia by joining Al-Nassr in early 2023.