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For the best part of two decades, a couple of all-time greats found themselves locked in a thrilling battle for global supremacy. Messi has prevailed on the Golden Ball front, with eight wins to his name compared to five for his Portuguese foe, but both men boast a stunning collection of major honours and entries in the record books.
Messi and Ronaldo have taken the art of goalscoring to new heights, but Pique – who played alongside the former at Barcelona and the latter at Manchester United – insists that an Argentine icon at Camp Nou never paid much attention to how CR7 was getting on. Pique has told talkSPORT: “He wasn’t that type of guy. He was very team-focused, although he was getting all the first page in all the newspapers and radios and TV. At the end of the day, he was very close with all of us and he was just focused on winning titles like the Champions League and these kinds of things. At the end of the day because he was the best. Then he was winning the Ballon d’Or but it wasn’t something that was a priority for him.”
Pique landed major silverware alongside Messi and Ronaldo, with time spent in their company – particularly in his younger years at Old Trafford – helping to make him a World Cup winner. Pique added on leaving La Masia to learn his senior trade in England: “It was amazing that time because I was very, very young and every day when I arrived to the dressing room, I mean we had [Ryan] Giggsy, [Paul] Scholesy, Gary Neville. So that generation from [The Class of] 92, it was incredible but at the same time we had the Rooneys, Ronaldos that were coming. I remember that time like crazy, every training was like a chance to prove that I was able to play at that level. It was tough, I can tell you because every day you have to mark [Wayne] Rooney or [Ruud] van Nistelrooy or Cristiano, but it’s good because for you then level everyday it’s better and better and better because you have a challenge to face. It helped me a lot to become the player that I was thanks to also those teams that we had during those years at Manchester United.”
Messi and Ronaldo are showing no sign of slowing down at the ages of 36 and 39 respectively. Messi is looking to enhance his standing as the most-decorated player of all-time at MLS side Inter Miami, while Ronaldo has registered 36 goals through 39 appearances this season for Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Nassr.
