Messi admires Ronaldo's start with Manchester United
Lionel Messi, the French football player of Paris Saint-Germain, has expressed his admiration for the start of Cristiano Ronaldo with his return to Manchester United, and Messi keeps fond memories of their beautiful rivalry in the Spanish League.
Ronaldo scored nine goals in the 13 games he participated in with Manchester United since returning to the club at the end of last August.
Despite Ronaldo's level and ability to score goals in fatal times that saved his team in several matches, Manchester United's season was not good and he had to dismiss coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer last Sunday.
But with less than half of the season played, Messi doesn't think Ronaldo's Manchester United can be ruled out in the Premier League title race.
Messi told Marca newspaper: "They are a strong team with great players. Cristiano already knows the club, but this was at another stage, and now he is adapting to the team in an amazing way."
He added, "From the beginning, he scored goals as he used to, and he had no problem adapting. In the Premier League, the team was not as good as we thought."
He stressed, "But it is a very difficult competition, as the competition takes many turns. After December, it changes a lot and anything can happen."
Messi and Ronaldo have won 11 of the last 12 Ballon d'Or awards - the only exception being Luka Modric receiving the award in 2018 - in a period dominated by the pair.
Messi and Ronaldo not only competed for personal prizes, but they competed strongly for local and European championships with their teams, during nine years in the Spanish League.
While Ronaldo is gone long before Real Madrid and Messi is far from Barcelona, Messi believes that the rivalry between them will live long in football folklore.
Messi said: "It has been a long time since we stopped competing in the same league. We competed individually and with our teams to achieve the same goals."
He stressed, "It was a very beautiful period for us and also for the fans because they enjoyed it so much. It is a beautiful memory that will remain in the history of football."
With Messi currently 34 years old and Ronaldo approaching 37, players like Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland are now considered the next major talents in the world of football.
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