Messi says he and Ronaldo deserve far more recognition for their accomplishments.

Messi says he and Ronaldo deserve far more recognition for their accomplishments.

Such a duel has never been seen in the history of football. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have given football such a fight for a long time. For more than a decade, these two stars have shaken European football. They have also dominated the Ballon d'Or stage. Now, reaching the end of their career, Messi has remembered the old days.

After completing their European journey, both Messi and Ronaldo are now playing outside Europe. They are playing for Inter Miami and Al Nasr respectively. Now, both are no longer at the center of Europe. However, the mutual respect still remains. That was revealed in a recent interview given to the Ballon d'Or account of the French newspaper L'Equipe. Messi recalled their dual reign.

Messi said, 'It was always a 'fight', I have to put it in quotation marks. But if you count the game on the field, it was really beautiful. We pushed each other to do better, because we both played with a very competitive mentality. He wanted to win at all costs in everything.’

Messi sees the rivalry with Ronaldo positively. ‘It was a great time for us, but also for those who love football,’ he said. ‘I think what we have done for so long deserves a lot of credit. As the saying goes, it is easy to climb to the top, but it is difficult to stay. We were at the top for 10 to 15 years. It was incredible, and a great memory for those who enjoy football.’

The duel between Messi and Ronaldo was not just a fight for goals or titles on the field, the competition was also fierce in terms of winning the Ballon d’Or. Between 2008 and 2023, they have won the award a total of 13 times. Apart from that, only Luka Modric (2018) and Karim Benzema (2022) have managed to break this record once.

Messi has won a record eight Ballon d'Ors. Ronaldo has won five. Although Messi is ahead in terms of statistics, he has given more importance to their dual reign than his own success. "We constantly pushed each other to be better," he said. "It was a golden era, where the quality of football was determined by the performances of both of us."