We know they are rivals, but this is a trifle harsh if true....
Opinions are divided over who the best footballer on the planet is at the moment, with some people opting for Barcelona's Lionel Messi and others going for Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid.
Renowned football journalist Guillem Balague has released a new book devoted to Messi and
in an extract published in the Daily Telegraph he reveals that Messi's Portuguese nemesis, Cristiano Ronaldo, has a nickname for him. When around his Madrid team-mates he refers to the Argentinian maestro as 'motherf****r', allegedly.
Balague writes: "Ronaldo, perhaps as a symptom of the immaturity that marks so many footballers, thinks it necessary to put on a brave face in front of his team-mates, not be scared of Messi and to rise to the challenge. All very macho; all very false.
"And that is why, according to some Real Madrid players, CR7 has a nickname for him: ‘motherf----r’; and if he sees someone from the club speaking to Leo, he also ends up being baptised ‘motherf----r’.
"In that environment, Ronaldo usually compares their relationship with that between the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. And the Madrid players, with their less than subtle dressing-room sense of humour, have a long list of jokes that include Messi as Ronaldo’s dog or puppet, or kept in a designer handbag belonging to the Portuguese player. And much worse."
Publicly, both players express respect for each other, but privately, it seems as if it's another story.
We can't be absolutely sure that this is true, but it does make for a nice headline for Balague on the release of his new book. Balague does plan to release a book about Ronaldo as well, however, so we're waiting with baited breath for the nickname that Messi has for Ronaldo.
Hat-tip: Daily Telegraph
