Gerard Pique, the former Barcelona defender, has stated that Lionel Messi was indifferent to his rivalry with Cristiano Ronaldo during their time together at Camp Nou.
For over a decade, the football world was captivated by the Messi-Ronaldo saga as they excelled for their respective clubs, Barcelona and Real Madrid, during the famed El Clasico encounters.
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In their illustrious careers, Messi and Ronaldo have collectively amassed an impressive 13 Ballon d’Or awards and four UEFA Champions League titles.
Regarded by many as among the greatest footballers ever, Messi further cemented his legacy by leading Argentina to victory in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, an accomplishment Ronaldo has not matched with the Portuguese national team.
In a TalkSPORT interview, Pique shed light on Messi’s mindset regarding the rivalry, emphasizing that Messi’s priority was always the success of the team over personal accolades or rivalry with Ronaldo.
“Did Messi care about Cristiano Ronaldo? No, he was not that type of guy,” said Pique. “He was focused on the team. Even when he was on always on the front page radio, TV, he was only focused on winning trophies for the team.
“At the end of the day, because he was the best then, he was winning the Ballon d’Or. But it was not on his priority.”
Having also played with Ronaldo briefly during his time at United, Pique also gave an insight into the Portuguese star’s mindset: “He started as a winger at Manchester United, he was very skilful then when he moved to Madrid, he started to become a goalscorer, like a pure nine.”
“At United when I played with him, he loved to do trick and was very skilful. But I assumed that he realised that at Real Madrid, if you want to be the best, you have to score a lot of goals.”
