“Could have signed for Barça” – Cristiano Ronaldo makes shocking admission; opens up about Messi | OneFootball

In an exclusive interview with El Chiringuito, Cristiano Ronaldo has made some shocking admissions about many hot topics that were relevant during the peak of his career.

Ronaldo even revealed that he was close to joining Barcelona during his time at Sporting Lisbon while also offering his thoughts on Lionel Messi.

Ronaldo was close to joining Barcelona

“I could have signed for Barça when I was playing for Sporting Lisbon,” Ronaldo told El Chiringuito.

It is no secret that Ronaldo was one of the hottest prospects in world football during his time at Sporting Club – his youth club.

At the time, the Portuguese international was courted by scores of top clubs across Europe, including Barcelona.

Ronaldo, though, revealed that the move to Barcelona did not go through, as he ultimately ended up joining Manchester United.

Ronaldo calls himself the best to ever play football (Photo by Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)

“I was with someone from the club and they wanted to sign me, but it didn’t happen. They wanted to sign me that year and join them the following year. But Manchester wanted me for that year,” he said.

Ronaldo’s take on the best player in history debate

Ronaldo was then asked about his opinion on the best player in the history of football debate.

While the Portuguese did acknowledge Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona, he did not hesitate in calling himself the best to ever grace the beautiful game.

“People could like Messi or Maradona, and I respect it, but I’m the most complete. I am the best player in history. I haven’t seen anyone better than me. I’m good with the headers, I’m a good free-kick taker, I’m quick, I’m strong, I jump a lot,” he said.

Ronald, though, admitted that he doesn’t have any hard feelings with Messi and in fact, shares a good relationship with the Argentine.

“I have a very good relationship with Messi, I once acted as a translator at some awards. He always treated me well. Hopefully, we’ll see our numbers again, but I see it as very difficult,” he concluded.