Paris Saint-Germain centre-back Sergio Ramos has controversially named current teammate Lionel Messi as the greatest player of all time over Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ramos and Ronaldo enjoyed a spate of domestic and continental success during their time together at Real Madrid, which ended when the latter left for Juventus in 2018.
Ramos remained on the books at the Bernabeu for three more years before signing for PSG, in the same summer that Messi made the sensational move to the French capital as a free agent.
Both Messi and Ramos endured difficult periods of adaptation during their first years in Ligue 1, with Messi only scoring six goals in his maiden season in the French top flight.
Meanwhile, Ramos spent a large chunk of the campaign sidelined by injuries, but the two veterans still ended the season with Ligue 1 winners' medals around their necks.
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The pair have since put their 2021-22 woes behind them to shine for Les Parisiens in the 2022-23 season, with Ramos often partnering Marquinhos at the back and starting 18 Ligue 1 games this term.
Meanwhile, Messi has scored 15 goals and set up 14 more in 24 matches across all competitions during a stellar start to the campaign, having buried the hatchet with Ramos following several notable clashes in El Clasico down the years.
Despite sharing a dressing room with Ronaldo for nearly a decade, Ramos has instead hailed Messi as the greatest player to ever play the game after enduring years of "suffering" against the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner.
Speaking to PSG TV, the 36-year-old said: "There was suffering for several years playing against Messi. I am now enjoying him. He is the best player football has ever produced."
Messi and Ramos both reunited with Ronaldo following his move to Al-Nassr earlier this year, as Christophe Galtier's men travelled to Saudi Arabia to take on a Riyadh All-Star XI in January.
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All three players were on target - with Ronaldo scoring a brace - in a 5-4 win for PSG, and the Portugal international scored his first goal for Al-Nassr in a 2-2 draw with Al-Fateh in the Saudi Pro League on Friday.
Meanwhile, Messi's 15th and most recent goal of the season came in Saturday's 2-1 Ligue 1 win over Toulouse, where the Argentine and Achraf Hakimi cancelled out Branco van den Boomen's 20th-minute opener.
Ramos was among the notable PSG absentees for that victory, having picked up a groin strain in Wednesday's 3-1 win over Montpellier HSC, where he initially came off following a clash of heads with Stephy Mavididi.
Neymar (groin) and Kylian Mbappe (thigh) also missed Saturday's game alongside the suspended Marco Verratti, and PSG's injury situation went from bad to worse in the first half, as Renato Sanches was forced off with just 12 minutes gone.
Despite their ever-growing injury list, Galtier's men have temporarily moved eight points clear of Marseille at the top of the Ligue 1 table and will take on their Classique rivals in Wednesday's Coupe de France last-16 tie.
Ben Knapton
