Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are arguably the greatest players ever to have graced the beautiful game.They have been exemplary performers for club and country in the last one and a half decades. Both have won a multitude of league and Champions League titles and now have a major international title against their respective names too.Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo may be on the wrong side of 30, but they have shown no signs of stopping any time soon. With a staggering 11 Ballon d'Or awards between them, the duo have continued to plunder goals and assists galore for club and country.Lionel Messi recently racked up four goals and five assists to lead Argentina to the Copa America 2021 title, while the 36-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo, with five goals and an assist, was easily Portugal's best player at Euro 2020.July 10, 2016: Ronaldo wins his first international trophy. July 10, 2021: Messi wins his first international trophy.The day of the GOAT 🐐 pic.twitter.com/ZObIG2vsR5— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) July 11, 2021Although football is a team game, each player has at various times, staked their claim to be called the greatest of all time. Over the years, they have broached this subject and talked about their achievements in comparison with the other.On that note, let's have a look at ten things Cristiano Ronaldo has spoken about Lionel Messi over the years:#10 "I've always had a cordial relationship with Messi. I never saw him as a rival" (2020)Cristiano Ronaldo dazzled on his return to Spain, albeit for one game, in 2020In their first meeting in any competition in more than two years, Cristiano Ronaldo's brace helped Juventus win 3-0 at Barcelona's home and also usurp top place in the group from the Blaugrana.The goals were Cristiano Ronaldo's first in the continental competition against Barcelona as the Blaugrana's record 38-game unbeaten run at home in the Champions League came to an end.2 Ronaldo penalties and a McKennie goal helps Juventus top the group and end Barcelona's record 38-game home unbeaten run in the Champions League ! #FinoAllaFine #ForzaJuve . pic.twitter.com/vM0PNdeMk4— Mike Pellegrini Online (@MIKE_BROWNS_UK) December 8, 2020While Ronaldo dazzled on his return to Spain, albeit for one game, Lionel Messi cut a largely isolated and frustrated figure up front. Nevertheless. after the match, Cristiano Ronaldo said he enjoyed a 'cordial' relationship with Messi and never saw the latter as a rival:"Leo and me shared the last twelve, thirteen or fourteen years of our lives. "I've always had a cordial relationship with him, I never saw him as a rival. It's the press that creates the rivalry. If you ask Leo, he'll tell you the same thing. It's always beautiful to play against him. Obviously people will talk about our rivalry when we meet, but for me it's just a great privilege."#9 "Lionel Messi makes me a better player and vice versa" (2020)Cristiano Ronaldo (left) and Lionel MessiTwo years after leaving Spanish shores for Italy, Cristiano Ronaldo said that his 'rivalry' with Lionel Messi made him a better player.The duo scored goals galore, albeit for different teams, during their time together in Spain. But Cristiano Ronaldo sought a different challenge after nine prolific years in the country and moved to Italian giants Juventus in the summer of 2018.In an interaction with TVI in Portugal before the start of the 2020-21 season, Ronaldo said about Lionel Messi:“I really admire the career he has had and from his side, he has already talked of the disappointment when I left Spain because it was a rivalry that he appreciated. It’s a good rivalry but it’s not unique -- Michael Jordan had rivalries in basketball, there was Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost in Formula 1."“I have no doubt that Lionel Messi has made me a better player and vice-versa. When I am winning trophies it must sting him and it’s the same for me when he wins,” he said.#8 "I would like him to come to Italy" (2018)Cristiano RonaldoCristiano Ronaldo scored 450 goals and won two league and four Champions League titles during a hugely successful nine-season stint at Real Madrid, where he became the club's all-time top scorer.After helping Madrid win their third consecutive Champions League title in 2018, the first by any club in the Champions League era, Ronaldo arrived at Juventus on a €100 million transfer. It was a record transfer fee paid by any club for a player aged 30 or above.The 34-year-old took a few games to acclimatize to his new surroundings before returning to his old goalscoring ways. Ronaldo said he had moved to Italy to seek a 'new' challenge and also urged Lionel Messi to join him in the country:“I’d like him to come to Italy one day. I hope he accepts the challenge like me, but if he’s happy there then I respect that," said Ronaldo to the Italian press.When asked if he missed Lionel Messi, Ronaldo added:“No, maybe it’s him who misses me ...I’ve played in England, Spain, Italy, Portugal and for my national team, while he’s still in Spain. Maybe he needs me more... For me, life is a challenge, I like it and I like to make people happy. He’s a fantastic player and a good guy, but I don’t miss anything here."#7 "I've won the Champions League with more than one club" (2019)Cristiano Ronaldo after winning his fifth Champions League title in 2018Cristiano Ronaldo is the first player in the Champions League to win the competition five times. He won the continental competition for the first time with Manchester United in 2008 before repeating the feat with Real Madrid in 2014, 2016-18.In an interaction with DAZN Canada in 2019, Ronaldo said that he respected the genius of Lionel Messi and his achievements. But what separated the two was the fact that while Lionel Messi has won the Champions League (four times) with Barcelona, he has done so for multiple clubs."The difference with me is that I've played for different clubs, and I also won the Champions League with different clubs. I was the top scorer in the Champions League six times in a row,” said Ronaldo.🗣 @Cristiano Ronaldo respects and applauds Lionel Messi's achievements... But explains what truly separates him from the Argentine. 👀 pic.twitter.com/FnMAOhlE9D— DAZN Canada (@DAZN_CA) August 13, 2019Ronaldo happens to be the only player to score for two winning clubs in Champions League finals, doing so for Manchester United and Real Madrid.