By Joshua Tosin Ogunsakin 
Argentina and Inter Miami forward, Lionel Messi, has stated that he has lots of respect and admiration for Cristiano Ronaldo.
In a post obtained from Fabrizio Romano’s post on Friday, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner said that at 40, Ronaldo is still competing at the highest level.
The post read, “I have a lot of respect and admiration for Cristiano Ronaldo, and for the career he’s had and continues to have. He is still competing at the highest level.
“The competition with him was on the pitch… Each of us wanted to do the best for our team.
“Everything stayed on the pitch”. “Off the pitch, we are two normal guys. We’re not friends because we don’t spend time together, but we’ve always treated each other with a lot of respect.”
The 37-year-old produced a trademark effort as he curled a spectacular free-kick past Claudio Ramos in the Porto goal at the ongoing FIFA Club World Cup.
His strike was his first at the Club World Cup since scoring for Barcelona in the 2015 final against River Plate.
The strike was also his 50th for the club in just 61 appearances since joining in July 2023.
Messi is already a three-time winner of the Club World Cup after triumphs in 2009, 2011, and 2015 with Barca.
His heroics against Porto leave Miami needing just a point in their final match to reach the knockout stage.