Messi: Why Ronaldo and I can never be friends

Barcelona star Lionel Messi has suggested that he does not think he could ever be friends with the Real Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo after he equaled the Portuguese's haul of four Golden Shoe awards.

A feature of recent Ballon d'Or and FIFA 'The Best' galas has been the seemingly warm way in which the pair have greeted each other, but the truth is that's the only time their paths tend to cross.

Messi in an exclusive interview with MARCA spoke about the Real Madrid forward saying: "There are many great players around today who can win the Ballon d'Or.

"In recent years there have just been two, but now players like Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Luis Suarez can compete for that award. I don't know if we will be. Friendship is built through spending time together and getting to know each other.

"We have no relationship, mainly because we only see each other at awards ceremonies and that's the only time we speak. Everything is fine, but our lives don't cross over very often." said Messi