Antonio Cassano made some comments in which he said that Cristiano Ronaldo was the eternal second (player of the world), behind Leo Messi. This reached the Portuguese, who called the Italian on the phone and asked for respect.
Antonio Cassano was a Real Madrid player during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons. Since his retirement from football, the former footballer has been the subject of successive words full of controversy.
Following an appearance on the television programme 'Rai Play', he compared Cristiano Ronaldo to Toto Cutugno, adding that he was the "eternal runner-up", a reference to being behind Leo Messi in the fight to be the best player in the world.
This reached the Portuguese, who called the Italian and asked him to respect him, as the former Italy international confessed: "He called me and sent me a message after I said that Lionel Messi is better than him. He told me to respect him.
To which the former Roma and Sampdoria player, among others, responded to the Manchester United striker: "I told him that Messi is on another level and that the Brazilian Ronaldo is better than him".