'It was a special duel, and it will remain forever': Lionel Messi speaks of his rivalry with Cristiano Ronaldo

Lionel Messi has admitted that his rivalry with Cristiano Ronaldo in Spain was special and it will remain forever.

Messi and Ronaldo played for Barcelona and Real Madrid, where they rivaled each other for the La Liga and Champions League titles from 2009-2018 as well as the Ballon D'Or, before the Portuguese footballer moved to Juventus. 

Speaking to DAZN about their rivalry, Messi said: "It was a special duel and it will remain forever because it lasted many years and it is not easy to maintain certain levels for a long time.

"Plus the teams we played in were also very demanding, both Real Madrid and Barcelona were the two best teams in the world."

The Argentinian also scored 472 times in all competitions for Barcelona between 2009 and 2018, while the Portuguese star registered 450 goals for Madrid.

Messi added: "Competing on an equal footing for so many years, I think it will remain forever.

"The sporting duel between us was very nice on a personal level and I think people had fun too, whether it was from Madrid or from Barca, or even only football fans in general."

RONALDO VS MESSI RIVALRY (2009-2018) 

Goals:  

Messi: 472; Ronaldo: 450

Assists:

Messi: 122; Ronaldo: 95

La Liga Trophies:

Messi: 7; Ronaldo: 2

Champions League Trophies:

Messi: 2; Ronaldo: 4 

Ballon D'Or 

Messi: 6: Ronaldo: 5