'I've never been afraid of Messi'

BeSoccer 5 years ago 6.1k |

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Ronaldo spoke of the eternal rivalry between him and Lionel Messi. AFP

In a series of interviews with Italian outlets 'Corriere dello Sport' and 'Gazzetta dello Sport' , Cristiano Ronaldo gave his opinions of his new life in Turin, his new Juventus teammates, and also sought to clarify that he has never been afraid of great rival Lionel Messi.

Although it may have happened back in the summer, Ronaldo's departure from Real Madrid and arrival at Juventus continues to produce new stories months later. The Portuguese, who gave a frank interview with a series of Italian enws outlets, has spoken of his happiness at being in the current Juventus side.

"Honestly, its great. The press always speak well of me. I like the place, the people and the club. Juventus is fantastic, very organized, with some very hard working players. I was immediately impressed," Ronaldo confirmed about his life in Italy.

He continued: "It is not fair to mention only a few players, but I can confirm that this is the best group of footballers I have played in. Here we are a team. In other places there are those people who feel more important than others, but here we are all on the same page, we are humble and want to win. If Dybala or Mandzukic don't score, they are still happy and smiling."

The Portuguese then went on to compare his short time at Juventus with his spell at Madrid: "For me it is beautiful, I can see a clear difference. In Madrid they are humble, but here...it feels like they are even more than that. It is very different to Madrid, this is more of a family."

Ronaldo also admitted that he is glad to have embarked on a move to Turin, in spite of a number of clubs clamouring to sign him as he made it clear that he wanted out of Madrid in the summer.

He added: "I had many options, but I will never say what they were, but Juventus is a big club with a lot of history."

"Nine years at Madrid are an uncomfortable comparison, but I am 100% certain that I made the right decision at the time," he clarified.

After commenting on his new situation at Juventus, Ronaldo spoke about Lionel Messi: "I have never been afraid of Messi."

"Perhaps he needs me more...For me, life is a challenge, I like it and I like to make people happy, I would like it if he came to Italy one day, like me, to accept the challenge. But, if he is happy where he is, I respect that," the Portuguese noted.

He concluded: "He (Messi) is a fantastic footballer, a good guy."