Cristiano Ronaldo has reignited football’s long-running debate over who stands as the greatest of all time between him and Lionel Messi.
In a preview clip released ahead of Piers Morgan’s latest interview, set to air on 4 November, the Portuguese forward firmly dismissed the idea that Messi is superior to him.
When asked by Morgan, “They say Messi is better than you. What do you think?”, Ronaldo replied confidently: “Messi is better than me? I don’t agree with that opinion. I don’t want to be humble.”
The teaser also features Ronaldo responding to remarks made by former Manchester United teammate Wayne Rooney, who has previously claimed Messi was the better player. The Al Nassr captain brushed off the criticism, saying such opinions “don’t bother” him and that he prefers to focus on his own achievements.
Ronaldo, who recently became the first footballer to surpass the billionaire mark, even added with a grin: “It’s not true — I became a billionaire many years ago.”
The interview, promoted by Morgan as “the biggest sit-down interview” of his career, marks another chapter in the two-decade-long rivalry that has defined modern football and divided fans worldwide.
Their previous conversation, nearly three years ago, became a major talking point after it led to Ronaldo’s dramatic exit from Manchester United during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The termination of his contract paved the way for his move to Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr, where he continues to play.
That World Cup also underscored the contrast between the two icons: Messi lifted the trophy with Argentina in a career-defining triumph, while Ronaldo’s campaign ended in heartbreak following Portugal’s quarter-final defeat to Morocco.
Morgan, a long-time admirer of Ronaldo, has consistently maintained that the forward is the greatest footballer ever. Writing in The Sun, he once described Messi as “a genius, no question”, but added that he had “long suspected he’s what cricket fans would call a flat-track bully.”
Following Ronaldo’s move to Al Nassr, Morgan argued that the veteran was “raising the profile of football in a new region” and continuing to “challenge himself as he’s always done.”
