Thursday night's UEFA award ceremony in Monaco ahead of the Champions League group stage draw brought together Ronaldo and Messi, arguably the best players to have ever graced the game.
Ronaldo, 34, and Messi, 32, were sat next to one another in the front row, seemingly having a good time together.
Reflecting on their relationship, Ronaldo admitted he missed their rivalry, which effectively came to an end when he departed Real Madrid for Juventus last summer.
“We shared the stage for 15 years, me and him,” he said. “I don't know if this [has] ever happened in football – the same two guys, the same stage, all the time, it's not easy. Of course, we have a good relationship.”
“We've not had dinner together yet, but I hope [we will] in the future. Of course I miss playing in Spain - we've had that battle the last 15 years, which is good. It pushed me and I pushed him as well,” he continued, stating that both of them made football history.
Messi, in turn, admitted he had already told Ronaldo that he is missing the “beautiful rivalry” between them, adding that the Portuguese star is currently playing for a “great team”.
"We have not had dinner together yet, but I hope so in the future."
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) August 29, 2019
"It's great to be a part of the history of football. I am there, and of course, he is as well."
Magnificent.
Cristiano Ronaldo speaks on his relationship with Lionel Messi 🙏 pic.twitter.com/HbicSaS6NW
Ronaldo went on to dispel rumours that he was going to retire at the end of the next season and said he was hopeful to be around for the next several years.
The two have spent most of their careers battling it out to be named the greatest footballer of all time, and their antagonism (mostly inflated by the media and fans) has come to be one of the greatest stories in sports, alongside the rivalries between Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost in F1 racing or Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in tennis.
Between them, Messi and Ronaldo won ten Ballon d’Ors – the most prestigious individual award in football – between 2008 and 2017, each of them winning it five times.
