Soccer’s history was redefined by these two legends. Last year, archrivals Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi took their talents to new continents, Asia for Ronaldo and America for Messi. Yet, fans remained intrigued and were satisfied by either’s performance. A few months ago, Rio Ferdinand, a former teammate of CR7, ignited the debate by suggesting a mutual obsession. “I can’t imagine one not thinking about the other,” he said. However, now, Gerard Pique, who played alongside both, disagreed, portraying the Argentine as apathetic to the rivalry.

Recently, Pique was asked on talkSPORT if the Inter Miami star ever used to keep a tab on Ronaldo’s performances. But, the Spaniard buried the doubt, saying, “He wasn’t that type of guy. He was very team-focused, although he was getting all the first page in all the newspapers and radios and TV.  At the end of the day, he was very close with all of us and he was just focused on winning titles like the Champions League and these kinds of things. At the end of the day because he was the best. Then he was winning the Ballon d’Or but it wasn’t something that was a priority for him,” claiming that Lionel Messi was more team-oriented.

Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo was quite vocal about the rivalry, who expressed that he was more open to different career challenges, and believed himself to be the greatest goalscorer. Concerning this, Ferdinand also said that Messi felt competition but was stoic to express it.

Moreover, Ferdinand also claimed the rivalry to be similar to tennis legends Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. He earlier said, “I think we had it in tennis with Federer and Nadal. One shows their emotion, the other doesn’t,” claiming the Portuguese icon to be more expressive.

Is the rivalry between Ronaldo and Lionel Messi dead?

Both the players seem to have openly called off the rivalry. However, experts feel that Cristiano Ronaldo is struggling to kill the competition. The Al Nassr captain is being peppered with Lionel Messi chants by the opponent fans, leading to frustration. Additionally, he was seen taking a dig at the Ballon d’Or and FIFA Best Awards after the Argentine won both last year. CR7 stated that the award shows were losing credibility and claimed that the Saudi league was better than Ligue 1, incurring the criticism of French legend, Frank Leboeuf.

Watch: Neymar Snubs Cristiano Ronaldo as Lionel Messi and Ronaldo Nazario Join Al Hilal Star’s Ultimate Dream Team

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Nevertheless, irrespective of what they think about each other, both icons continue to remain stalwarts of the beautiful game. Ronaldo has consistently scored goals for Al Nassr and Messi continues winning trophies too, and this itself is a pleasure for fans around the world.