Former Barcelona star Dani Alves makes a surprising confession: 'I love Cristiano Ronaldo'

In a surprise confession, former FC Barcelona defender Danil Alves has said he "loves" Cristiano Ronaldo and he relates with the Portuguese forward more than he does with Lionel Messi.

Alves, who moved from Sevilla to Barcelona in the summer of 2008, spent eight seasons at Camp Nou, where he would have come face to face against then-Real Madrid forward Ronaldo on many occasions.

Now that both Alves and Ronaldo are not in their respective Spanish clubs, the Brazilian right-back feels freer to talk about his time in La Liga and his battles with Ronaldo.

"I love Cristiano. Now we're no longer at Barca or Madrid, I can speak, as it always seemed like I couldn't", Alves said in a podcast.

Alves, who now plays for a Mexican club Club Universidad Nacional, A.C (UNAM), said that Ronaldo demonstrates that hard-work pays off as he exemplifies hard-work over talent. The 39-year-old Alves went on to add that he has the utmost respect for the five-time Ballon d'Or winner.

"Cristiano exemplifies, for all of us who don't have that much quality, that with hard work, you can compete against the best. I respect him a lot and I had the opportunity to tell him," added Alves.

Alves, who returned to Barcelona for a short second-stint last season, said that he was more similar to Ronaldo than his 'born talent' Barcelona teammate Messi.

"I identify with him, because everything I did in my life was based on work. As a player, I'm closer to Cristiano than Messi, because of work, not because of talent. Leo is a born talent, at a level only he can achieve," said Alves.

The Brazil national also revealed a scuffle he had with Ronaldo in a Ballon d'Or ceremony a few years ago when he was a Barcelona player and Ronaldo was at Real Madrid.

"There was a time, because of the rivalry, I went to greet him and he ignored me. There was a controversy that never came out but in the Ballon d'Or dressing room we had a scuffle. I greeted everyone and he ignored me because of the Barca-Madrid rivalry," Alves added.

Ronaldo moved from Juventus to Manchester United in the summer of 2021. He was the Red Devils' leading goal scorer last season with 24 goals. But it was not enough to help his side finish in the top four of the Premier League. As a result, Manchester United have dropped to the second-tier European competition, Europa League.

After leaving Barcelona in 2016, Alves had a brief stint with Juventus before he moved to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) for two seasons. He then played for Sao Paulo for three years.

Meanwhile, Alves is now aiming to seal a spot in Brazil's squad for the FIFA World Cup, which is due to be played in Qatar in November-December. Alves is also looking to go past Real Madrid legend Roberto Carlos as Brazil's second most capped player of all time.