Ronaldo believes he's better than Messi: 'I don't want to be humble'
The latest person to weigh in on the timeworn Lionel Messi-versus-Cristiano Ronaldo debate? Cristiano Ronaldo.
The first part of Piers Morgan's latest interview with Ronaldo was released Tuesday. The Al-Nassr and Portugal forward was quizzed on many matters, including the Premier League, being a billionaire, and retirement.
He was also drawn onto the subject of his old Ballon d'Or rival Messi in a currently unreleased section of the interview. Morgan prompted that portion of the conversation when he mentioned Wayne Rooney recently commenting that Messi is better than his former Manchester United teammate.
"I don't agree. I don't want to be humble," Ronaldo said in a trailer released before the opening section of the interview emerged on YouTube.
Messi and Ronaldo held a duopoly over the Ballon d'Or from 2008-17, with each player winning five awards. Messi won the award again in 2019, 2021, and 2023 and therefore boasts the record for the most Ballon d'Ors with eight.
Ronaldo joined Al-Nassr of the Saudi Pro League from Manchester United at the end of 2022. Barcelona icon Messi moved to Major League Soccer's Inter Miami in July 2023 after two seasons with Paris Saint-Germain.
In a snippet teasing the next part of the interview, Ronaldo said whether he wins his first World Cup with Portugal in 2026 won't define him as a player due to the tournament's small sample size. "To win one competition - six games, seven games. You think it's fair?"
Messi captained Argentina to a World Cup triumph in 2022.
'I'm an open person'
Ronaldo's second spell with Manchester United didn't reach the heights of his prior stint from 2003-09, when he won the Champions League and six major domestic honors ahead of his spectacular nine-year stay with Real Madrid. He revealed his enduring fondness for United and how it makes him sad that the club is struggling to revive its past glories.
"Manchester United, right now, they don't have a structure," the attacker said. "I hope that changes in the future ... because the potential of the club is amazing. It's one of the most important clubs of the century."
Despite his continued prolificacy for Al-Nassr and Portugal, the Sporting CP product is regularly asked when he'll retire from soccer. The all-time record goal-scorer in men's international soccer conceded that he'll step away from the game "soon."
"I think I will prepared," the 40-year-old shared. "It will tough, of course. It will be difficult, yes. Probably I will cry, yes. Yeah, (it's) normal, and I'm an easy guy to cry. I'm not keep my feelings (hidden). I'm honest. I'm an open person."
Ronaldo said one thing he'll focus on after hanging up his boots is his YouTube channel. He has 77 million subscribers on the platform.
"I'm going to spend more time on that to learn to do more stuff," he said. "I think I'm going to do the funny things and things I'm not used to doing before."