In 2005, Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley were on-air with Oprah Winfrey. For almost the entire interview, Jordan and Barkley sent the audience and Oprah into fits of laughter. Watching this camaraderie unfold, Oprah said, “Y’all are very funny together, I’d like to see this reality show.”

However, the saying “good things fall apart” is unfortunately true in their case. The friendship between this duo took an ugly turn. Recently, Charles Barkley spoke about their friendship and the rift. This interview caused a meltdown among fans online.

Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley were rivals on the court. However, off the court, they were the best of friends. They appeared in interviews together, giving fans every reason to call them “friendship goals”. Post-retirement, Jordan ventured out to become a business mogul. He became the owner and lead executive of the Charlotte Hornets. On the other hand, Barkley focused on being an NBA analyst. This change in profession seemingly caused a fallout between the two.

Charles Barkley on the fallout with Michael Jordan

Recently, in an interview, Barkley spoke about this fallout and what he would say to Jordan now. For Barkley, this whole situation is an unfortunate one. Having said that, as per his job description, Barkley is required to criticize teams and people in the league. So Michael Jordan doesn’t get a free pass even if he was Barkley’s best friend. He stated that he will always do his job first. Furthermore, Barkley commented on the events that led to the fallout.

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When Michael Jordan was included in the Hornets organization, Barkley was unhappy. He criticized this decision publicly. Barkley said, “Michael’s got to surround himself with better people. And I worry about him being successful.” Barkley spoke out of concern. He believed that Jordan was not around people who genuinely cared for him. Additionally, Barkley considered that the Hornets’ front office was not good enough to support him.

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Barkley’s opinion led to a heated argument or as Barkley called it: “It wasn’t a pleasant conversation.” Since then, the two have reportedly not spoken to each other.

During a recent interview, Barkley was asked about what he would say to Jordan now. He said, “What I said was I believed. I am sorry you took offense to it. Let’s get past this b***s*** and go back to playing golf and having fun.”

Following this interview, NBA fans across the world reminisced about the good old days of this friendship. While doing so, fans were in anguish seeing their relationship remain broken for so long.

NBA world reacts to Chuck and Jordan’s relationship

Fans instantly pulled up the Oprah Winfrey interview and spoke about the beautiful relationship Jordan and Barkley shared. One tweet, in particular, said, “Charles and Michael were straight comedy together, we need this friendship back. Them not talking for 10 years is a travesty.”  Many stated that the world needs this friendship back. Some called Jordan out for being petty while others urged Barkley to be the bigger person and make the first attempt to mend this fallout.

Here are some of the reactions from NBA Twitter:

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What do you think about the comments by Charles Barkley? Do you think the two will ever be able to amend their relationship? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.