“Thierry said: ‘Can Ronaldo do that?’” - When Rio Ferdinand revealed insane Lionel Messi moment in Barcelona training shared by Thierry Henry

Rio Ferdinand once shared an incident involving Lionel Messi at Barcelona that left Thierry Henry wondering if Cristiano Ronaldo could replicate it. The two icons have been pitted against each other over the last two decades of their dominance in football.

Thierry Henry shared the dressing room with Lionel Messi at Barcelona for three years between 2007 and 2010. The two appeared in 89 matches together, recording 17 joint-goal participations. During Henry's last two seasons at the Catalan club, Pep Guardiola coached the team, leading them to the treble in 2009. The former Arsenal striker once shared an interesting incident with Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand, where the former recalled Messi being angry with Guardiola at training.

In Rio Ferdinand's autobiography (via SPORTBible), the former defender recalled how Thierry Henry compared Lionel Messi to his archrival, Cristiano Ronaldo. Speaking about the incident, Ferdinand wrote:

"So when the ball went back to his goalkeeper, he (Messi) ran back and demanded the ball. The goalkeeper rolled him the ball, and Messi then proceeded to run through the entire team and score in anger. Thierry said that was what he used to do in the playground at school. I did stuff like that too against little kids. But he (Messi) did it against some of the best in the world: Yaya Toure, Puyol, Iniesta, Xavi, Busquets. And it wasn't just that one time. He did it a couple of times."

He added:

"Thierry said: 'Can Ronaldo do that?' I said, 'Well, I've never seen him do that.' Thierry played with Zidane and Ronaldinho but they never did anything like that. He said: 'That's when I knew Messi was different to anyone we've ever seen'."

Over the last two decades, Messi and Ronaldo have shared an iconic rivalry, with them winning a record 13 Ballons d'Or together. Their feud reached its peak when they played for rival sides, Barcelona and Real Madrid, respectively, between 2009 and 2018.

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When Cristiano Ronaldo claimed his rivalry with Lionel Messi was 'gone'

Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Virgil van Dijk (L to R) - Source: Getty

In a 2023 interview with Record, Cristiano Ronaldo claimed his iconic rivalry with Lionel Messi had come to an end. The Portuguese legend admitted that the feud changed the trajectory of football, and said (via ESPN):

"I don't see things like that, the rivalry is gone. It was good, spectators liked it. Those who like Cristiano don't have to hate Messi and vice versa. We've done well, we have changed the history of football. We are respected all over the world, that's the most important thing."

The legendary forward added:

"He's followed his path and I have followed mine, regardless of playing outside of Europe. From what I've seen, he's been doing well and so have I. The legacy lives on, but I don't see the rivalry like that. We shared the stage many times, it was 15 years. I'm not saying we're friends, I've never had dinner with him, but we're professional colleagues and we respect each other."

Lionel Messi has faced Cristiano Ronaldo 36 times across competitions. He has won 16 games against the Portuguese superstar, lost 11 times, with nine games ending in a draw.