Lionel Messi Would 'Obviously' Accept an Invite from Cristiano Ronaldo to Meet

Barcelona star Lionel Messi said he would accept an invitation to have a meal with longtime rival Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ronaldo said at the UEFA Player of the Year awards that he hoped the pair would have dinner together in the future.

When asked if he would be open to doing so in an interview with Sport, Messi said:

"Yes, I don't have any problem with that. I've always said that I don't have any issue with him. 

"We might not be friends because we've never shared a dressing room together but I always see him at award shows and there's no problem.

"We actually spoke with each other for quite a long time at the most recent show.

"I don't know if there will be a dinner because I don't know if our paths will cross for obvious reasons, each one of us has our own life and our own commitments. But obviously I would accept the invitation."

As nominees for the men's award, Messi and Ronaldo were sat together during the ceremony in August.

The Juventus forward suggested the pair might have a meal together one day during an interview alongside his Barca counterpart (U.S. and UK only, respectively): 

They lost out on the award to Virgil van Dijk, though former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand believed they were more deserving than the Liverpool centre-back:

The duo have been at the pinnacle of the sport for more than a decade, rivalling one another for the claim of not only being the best in the world, but as the best of all time.

That debate has long raged on social media in particular, with many fans split into diametrically opposed camps.

Until Luka Modric broke their stranglehold over it last year, the Ballon d'Or went to one or the other for 10 years running.

What's more, for much of that time Ronaldo played for Real Madrid, Barcelona's bitter rivals, so they were also in direct competition with one another domestically. El Clasico often felt as though it was as much about the two going head-to-head than the teams they played for.

Given those games and awards ceremonies will have been the extent of their interaction with one another, it's hardly surprising they're not close friends.

However, it's clear there has never been any personal enmity between them, despite being pitted against one another all these years.