Juventus took on FC Barcelona at Camp Nou last night, and emerged victorious. The 3-0 match was one of the most anticipated ones of the year, which saw football’s biggest rivalry come to life once again, with Ronaldo coming out on top this time. But the Portugal player revealed that he doesn’t take this rivalry as seriously as people do.
“I have always had a cordial relationship with Messi,” Ronaldo told Movistar after the game. “As I have said before, for 12, 13, 14 years [I have been] sharing prizes with him.
“I never saw him as a rival. He always tried the best for his team, and I tried the best for mine. I always got on well with him. I am sure he will say the same if you ask him.
“But we know in football, people always look for a rivalry to create more excitement.”
Ronaldo also shared his appreciation for FCB on Instagram. He captioned the post, “Always great to return to Spain and to Catalunya, always hard to play in Camp Nou against one of the best teams I ever faced. Today we were a team of Champions! A true, strong and united family! Playing like this, we have nothing to fear until the end of the season… Let’s go, guys! Let’s go, Juve! Fino Alla Fine!”
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The 35-year-old forward scored two penalties that helped the Italian team end Barca’s 38-game unbeaten run at home in Europe to reach the last 16 as group winners.
FCB forward Antoine Griezmann criticised his own performance post-match. “We didn’t turn up,” Griezmann said. “They turned us over in the first half. We were lacking in every department: attitude, desire to run, to defend … everything was bad.
“Who’s to blame if not those of us who are out there playing? We know how to run, how to work hard, and that’s what we must do to move forward.
“I don’t want to look for excuses. We have to leave that to one side and work hard, there’s nothing else for it. There’s a game on Sunday [against Levante], and we have to win it. The image [of the team] tonight was ugly.”
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