Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are the two best football players in the world. Publicly the two seem to have a cordial relationship and share a mutual respect for one another. But privately, Ronaldo allegedly has a not so nice nickname for his arch nemesis *cues dramatic music*.
Via The Big Lead:
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 baptized ‘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 humor, 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.
Argentina and Portugal play next week in a high-profile international soccer friendly at Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United in England so the timing of this report is impeccable. Despite the fact that nothing is truly on the line for these two prominent players, pride and ego can mean just as much to them as any trophy would.