Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are both widely considered to be the best footballers in the world. And no other player apart from the superstar duo has won the Ballon d'Or since 2007. But how has this affected their relationship?
Twenty-eight-year-old Messi has told Argentine press that they both have a mutual respect for one another, but he admitted that their relationship doesn't go beyond that.
Messi told 'El Grafico', "We are professionals that defend our teams, and rivals in this game, nothing more than that,"
"Sometimes it happens that we win or that we lose. There has always been respect and nothing more."