Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand said that he and Quinton Fortune used to 'borderline bully' Cristiano Ronaldo during games of table tennis to build his resilience.
09.03.2023 - 19:21 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Cristiano Ronaldo may not be featuring in the Champions League these days but his impact in the competition has not been forgotten at the highest level.
Bayern Munich star Thomas Muller referenced the former Manchester United man, now playing his club football in Saudi Arabia for Al-Nassr, in the wake of his side knocking Paris St-Germain out of the Champions League on Wednesday night - and Lionel Messi was on the end of the German's cheeky dig.
Muller featured for Bayern as they beat Messi and Co 2-0 on Wednesday night to complete a 3-0 aggregate victory which moved the German champions into the last eight. For PSG, the wait for European success will go on for at least another season and Muller was confident of progression despite World Cup winner Messi lining up on the opposite side.
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"Against Messi, things always go well at all levels in terms of results," the Germany international told reporters post-match. "At club level, Cristiano Ronaldo was our problem when he was at Real Madrid."
Muller may have cheekily taunted Messi in the aftermath of the game but he also heaped praise on the 35-year-old for leading Argentina to World Cup victory in December.
"I have the greatest respect for Messi's World Cup performance," the Bayern man added. "His individual performance was amazing. He carried the whole squad. It's not so easy to play at a team like PSG. It's difficult to get a really good team balance."
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