Ronaldo downplays Messi rivalry: 'They've even compared our children'

A footballing duopoly if one ever existed, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi spent the turn of the calendar year, as they normally do, collecting awards and reviving the endless debate over the planet's top footballer.

In conversation with Dongqiudi, a Chinese publication, Ronaldo discussed the comparisons between himself and Messi, saying he doesn't like them while also pointing out just how far they can go, as even his offspring aren't immune from the topic.

"We are rivals because we play in different teams but when we're together we have a normal relationship," Ronaldo said, according to Marca's Mikel Sainz de Vicuna. "People compare us all the time, they've even compared our children when they're at school; who is faster, smarter ... It's part of the business. I don't like to compare, this world doesn't exist for me. We are different, two people doing their job, that's all."

The next time Ronaldo and Messi take the pitch together in La Liga will be in April when Real Madrid welcomes Barcelona to the Santiago Bernabeu.