Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have a long-standing rivalry, but the Portuguese forward’s past comments about the pair’s partners showed a different side to their relationship
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have been involved in a long-running rivalry for most of their careers, but there is more respect between them than some fans would expect. Despite their near-constant battle to be the world ’s best player, Ronaldo previously explained his and Messi’s mutual appreciation and admitted that their partners share a bond.
On Monday, Ronaldo’s girlfriend, Georgina Rodriguez, shared that the Al-Nassr forward had proposed to her. Posting a picture of her huge engagement ring on Instagram, Rodriquez wrote: “Yes I do. In this and in all my lives.”
The couple have two children together, while Rodriguez is also stepmother to Ronaldo’s other three children. The ex-Manchester United star previously spoke about Rodriguez’s relationship with Messi’s wife, Antonella Roccuzzo, demonstrating that the players’ rivalry does not extend beyond the football pitch.
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“Amazing player, he is magic, top. As a person, we share the stage 16 years, imagine, 16 years, we share. So, I have great relationship with him,” Ronaldo said during his memorable interview with Piers Morgan in 2022.
“I’m not friend of him in terms of, what I mean is a friend is the guy who is with you in your house, speaking on the phone, no, but it’s like a team-mate. He’s a guy that I really respect, the way he always speaks about me. “
He added: “Even his wife or my wife, my girlfriend, they always respect and they’re from Argentina. My girlfriend is from Argentina. So good. What I am going to say about Messi? A good guy who does everything for football.”
In 2020, Rodriguez showcased her fondness for Roccuzzo and Messi’s family by commenting on a birthday post dedicated to their son Thiago. “How quickly they grow. Happy birthday,” she wrote on social media.
Ronaldo and Rodriguez met in 2016 and their wedding plans have been the subject of speculation throughout their relationship. The couple were rumoured to be engaged after Rodriguez was pictured wearing a ring at the 2018 World Cup.
Despite not being married, the football icon has often referred to Rodriguez as his wife, including during his trophy acceptance speech in Dubai last year. “It’s a big pleasure to win this trophy. My oldest son is here, and my wife [Georgina] is here,” he said after being named Best Middle Eastern player.
When asked about his thoughts on marrying Rodriguez, Ronaldo said: “I always tell her: ‘When we get that click.’ Like everything with our life, and she knows what I’m talking about,” he told Piers Morgan. “It could be in a year or it could be in six months or it could be in a month. I’m 1000% sure that it’ll happen.”
For Rodriguez, the couple’s engagement will end questions from friends. The 31-year-old shared during her ‘I Am Georgina’ Netflix documentary that it has often been a popular subject within her social circle.
“They’re always joking about the wedding. ‘When is the wedding?’” Rodriguez said. “Since Jennifer Lopez’s song The Ring Or When came out, they started singing it to me. And well, this is not up to me.”
Meanwhile, Messi and Roccuzzo have been married since 2017 and have three children together. The pair have known each other since childhood, but lost contact after Messi left Argentina for Barcelona before reconnecting.
“At 13 years old I went to Spain and we kind of lost contact,” he told the Willing to Everything podcast. “Communication was much more difficult than now.
“It was through letters, emails or some international phone calls which were expensive. So we stopped talking and distanced ourselves a lot. At 16 or 17 years old we reconnected.”
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