Cristiano Ronaldo's comment about Georgia Rodriguez and Lionel Messi's wife says it all

Despite Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi's rivalry achieving almost mythical status, it appears there's actually a healthy mutual respect between the iconic duo, that their wives also share. The Al-Nassr forward and Inter Miami star famously crossed paths on several occasions when Ronaldo was at Real Madrid and Messi plied his trade at Barcelona. While their heated battles often seemed to suggest there was a degree of umbrage between the pair, the reality appears somewhat different.

Ronaldo, who turns 40 on Wednesday, once praised his great foe on TV. The former Manchester United icon also revealed that the pair's wives also hold one another in high regard. Speaking during his now infamous interview with Piers Morgan in 2022, the Portuguese star outlined the parameters of his friendship with Messi. "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," he said.

"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. ". Ronaldo also disclosed his partner Georgina Rodriguez and Messi's wife Antonella Roccuzzo's relationship, adding: "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.".

Rodriguez and Roccuzzo have interacted on social media too. Back in 2020, Roccuzzo posted a birthday message on Instagram for her and Messi's son, Thiago, and Rodriguez was quick to comment underneath, dispaying their camaraderie, saying: "How quickly they grow. Happy birthday!". Ronaldo and Rodriguez met in 2016 in Madrid, and by the Portuguese icon's own admission, it was "magical" love at first sight. Nine years later and the couple now share two children, with Rodriguez acting as stepmother to Ronaldo's other three children.

Mystery surrounds whether the couple have actually tied the knot. Photos of Rodriguez wearing a ring at the 2018 World Cup suggested they were indeed married, only for Ronaldo to later shut down the rumours. However, at an awards ceremony in Dubai just two months ago, Ronaldo was named the Best Middle Eastern player. In his acceptance speech, he stated: "It's a big pleasure to win this trophy. My oldest son is here, and my wife [Georgina] is here.".

Meanwhile, Messi married Roccuzzo in 2017. Having met when they were both just nine years old, it wasn't always plain sailing for the duo however. While the pair now have three children together; Thiago, 11, Mateo, 8, and Ciro, 6, speaking about their romantic journey, the former PSG star revealed they actually lost touch for a short time 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.".