Cristiano Ronaldo 'claimed he'd quit football if Lionel Messi won Ballon d'Or in 2019' | OneFootball

Cristiano Ronaldo sensationally claimed he would “quit football” if Lionel Messi won the 2019 Ballon d’Or according to the author of his recently-released biography Cristiano.

Former head of foreign football at France Football Thierry Marchand, discussed with L’Equipe sitting down alongside Ronaldo in late-2018 to formulate ideas and concepts for the book. He claims he was concerned with the personal life of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner – his childhood, his friends, his family.

What made him into the person and player he is or was, given his current diminished status which has seen him in and out of the Manchester United side and ranked the 100th best player in Football Manager 2023.

Ronaldo allegedly made some big claims in the interview

Instead, Ronaldo allegedly let slip some words referencing his great Argentinian rival. Marchand claims Messi’s decision to stay at Barcelona for his entire career while Ronaldo had moved from Sporting to United to Real Madrid and then to Juventus – the interview took place shortly after his blockbuster move to Turin in the summer of 2018.

The Portuguese legend is claimed to have said, per The Sun: “If Messi wins the Ballon d’Or this year, I’m leaving football.” Messi did win the 2019 Ballon d’Or, his sixth, putting him one clear of Ronaldo who finished in third place behind his great rival and Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk.

Marchand also claimed Messi was called “The Other Guy” by Ronaldo’s agent, Jorge Mendes, and while there was a respect and admiration for Messi’s talents as a player, his lack of courage to step out of his “comfort zone” and “bubble” as a man was something Ronaldo looked down upon.

It is claimed Ronaldo believed himself to be taking a risk coming to Juventus, changing “club, championships, football culture” and for that risk, he missed out on the 2018 Ballon d’Or.

It is a fanciful claim if true given the winner Luka Modric won the Champions League alongside Ronaldo and then carried Croatia to the World Cup final, breaking the 10-year dominance of the “Big Two.” Then again, it isn’t hard to imagine Ronaldo thinking he should have won the Ballon d’Or in all of those years.

Ronaldo didn’t retire – were the claims taken out of context?

Since the alleged comments, Messi has won a seventh award in 2021. In the same year, he finally left Barcelona to join PSG, however this was due to the Catalan giants’ disastrous finances rather than any inherent desire to leave the “bubble” and the club he loves.

Ronaldo or his representatives have yet to comment on the claims made by Marchand and are unlikely to do so. Stories are constantly circulating about arguably the world’s most famous athlete and are usually met with radio silence.

It is possible that the interview and the claims relating to Messi were taken out of context or said in jest. Is it likely that Ronaldo would willingly sit down and bash his greatest rival, knowing the impact it would have on his public image?

He might not have retired as it was claimed in 2019 when Messi won the Ballon d’Or but if he leads Argentina to 2022 World Cup glory this winter, who knows what Ronaldo might do. Retire? Go into hiding? One can be certain he will not be cheering on La Albiceleste

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