Bayern Munich coach Carlo Ancelotti has spoken of Cristiano Ronaldo's relationship with Barcelona star Lionel Messi.
Ancelotti worked with Ronaldo at Real Madrid.
"People always ask me about Messi and Ronaldo, but the truth is that we didn't spend every day in Madrid talking about Messi," said Ancelotti to the Telegraph, "Cristiano respects Messi a lot, they push each other on to new challenges, new records and new ways to score goals.
"Ronaldo signed for Manchester United in 2003 and played his first international tournament in 2004. Twelve years later, he remains Europe's biggest star - that's incredible.
"If one of them didn't exist, then Ronaldo or Messi would've won eight Ballon d'Ors as opposed to Cristiano's three and Messi's five.
"As a coach it was a pleasure to have Ronaldo at my disposal. I wanted to play him every week and he wanted that also.
"He never went to bed without worrying about whether he would be ready or not for the next game."