Cristiano Ronaldo has taken to his Facebook account to deny claims that he has an obscene nickname for Lionel Messi.

Tensions between the two players have long been the subject of speculation. In his new book about Messi, Spanish football expert Guillem Balague reveals that the Real Madrid star routinely refers to the Argentina international as “motherf***er” behind his back.

Balague conveys that even though the outward appearance is of professional respect between the two global celebrities, behind closed doors Ronaldo (as well as his teammates) holds an animosity towards Messi and anyone who befriends him.

He writes: “Ronaldo, perhaps as a symptom of the immaturity that marks so many footballers, thinks it necessary to put on a brave face in front of his teammates, not to be scared of Messi and to rise to the challenge. All very macho; all very false.”

“And that is why, according to some Real Madrid players, CR7 has a nickname for him: ‘mother—-r’; and if he sees someone from the club speaking to Leo, he also ends up being baptized ‘motherf—-r’.”

“In that environment, Ronaldo usually compares their relationship with that between the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. And the Madrid players, with their less than subtle dressing-room sense of humor, have a long list of jokes that include Messi as Ronaldo’s dog or puppet, or kept in a designer handbag belonging to the Portuguese player. And much worse.”

Responding to the claims made in Balague’s book, Ronaldo released this statement via his official Facebook page:

“News is circulating that I allegedly made offending remarks regarding Lionel Messi. This is absolutely false and I have assured my lawyer takes action to sue those responsible. I have the utmost respect for all of my professional colleagues, and Messi is obviously no exception. – Cristiano Ronaldo”

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