Cristiano Ronaldo: I am the the best player in football history

Cristiano Ronaldo projected himself as the most complete footballer in history, emphasizing his “unmatched” range of scoring ability.

The former Real Madrid star, who now plays in Saudi Arabia, turned 40 on Wednesday and made it clear that he has no doubt about who should be considered the greatest footballer of all time.

“I’m the best player in football history. I haven’t seen anyone better than me in football history, and I’m saying truth from my heart,” Ronaldo said in an interview with Spanish television channel La Sexta.

“I am the greatest scorer in history. Although I am not left-footed, I am in the top 10 in history for goals scored with the left foot. These are numbers, I am the most complete player who has ever existed. I play well with my head, I take good free kicks, I am fast, I am strong, I jump… I have never seen anyone better than me,” he added.

The Portugal star holds several records in men’s international football, including most appearances (217) and most goals (135).

FIFA Ballon d’Or nominees Lionel Messi of Argentina and FC Barcelona (L) and Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal and Real Madrid (R) attend a press conference prior to the FIFA Ballon d’Or Gala 2015.
| Photo Credit:
Philipp Schmidli/Getty Images

Ronaldo also spoke about his legendary rivalry with Lionel Messi. “I’ve never had a bad relationship with Messi. We’ve shared 15 years of awards, and we’ve always gotten along well. I remember that I used to translate English for him, and it was very funny. He defended his club and I mine, and his national team and I mine. I think we gave each other feedback. There were years when he wanted to play everything, and so did I. It was a healthy fight.”