Cristiano Ronaldo has said that his rivalry with Lionel Messi is over and that fans do not have to ‘hate one and like the other.’

The two players have been competing for the title of best player in the world for over a decade, but Ronaldo believes that the rivalry is healthy and that fans do not have to hate one player to like the other.

“I don’t see things like that; the rivalry is over,” Ronaldo said. “It was a healthy rivalry, and the spectators liked it a lot.“

“Whoever likes Cristiano Ronaldo doesn’t have to hate Messi and vice versa, because they are both very good,” he added. “We’ve done well; we have changed the history of football, and we’ll keep on doing it.”

Ronaldo recently scored his 850th senior career goal for club and country and never thought he would achieve the feat. His words: “The 850 goals are a historic achievement. It was a surprise for me, I never thought I would reach them. But I want more, I want to be at the top, to think big. I want to thank those who helped me, all the clubs where I played and the national team.”

Ronaldo and Messi have faced each other many times, both at club and international levels. 

The two players have won a combined 12 Ballon d’Or awards and are widely considered two of the greatest footballers of all time.