Messi moved by describing his rivalry with Cristiano Ronaldo: "It was a very beautiful battle"

Lionel Messi speaks after winning his eighth Ballon d'Or

After winning his eighth Ballon d'Or, Lionel Messi gave an interview where he talked about his football rivalry with Cristiano Ronaldo, the current forward for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia.

"Well, it was always a very nice sports battle. I think we both fueled each other. We are both very competitive, I always wanted to win at everything and against everyone", said the 'Flea' in an interview with Sportscenter.

"It was a very nice time for us and for people who like football in general. What we did with so much time is very commendable, because as they say, it's easy to reach the top but the difficult thing is to stay there, and we were at the top for 10 or 15 years. It has been spectacular and a nice memory for the whole world", added Messi.

"My first Ballon d'Or was a special joy, I remember it was different because I was on a program and there weren't as many players as there are now", said the Argentine forward who became champion of Qatar 2022.