In the eyes of Cristiano Ronaldo, there's no one better than him at football.

The 34-year-old has worked tirelessly throughout his career to be number one, forever spending time on the training ground and in the gym improving himself.

And the results have shown: league titles with Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus, five Champions League triumphs and five Ballon d'Or trophies.

Ronaldo has also enjoyed much success on the international stage with Portugal, winning Euro 2016 and the 2019 UEFA Nations League.

He's a serial winner and very few players in the modern era compare, both in terms of individual and collective achievements.

In fact, only one player does compare: Lionel Messi.

Messi has been Ronaldo's nemesis for well over a decade now and in a recent interview Ronaldo explained the difference between them.

"The difference [between me and Messi] is that I played for several clubs and won the Champions League with different clubs," said the Portuguese.

"I was top scorer in the Champions League six seasons in a row. There aren't many players who won five Champions League trophies.

"Messi is an excellent player who will be remembered not just for his Ballon d'Or wins, but also for having improved - like me - year after year."

Ronaldo is obsessed with being better than Messi, there are no two ways about it, and his reasoning for being better is something that Ryan Giggs called last summer.

Speaking after his former teammate's move to Juventus, Giggs correctly predicted that Ronaldo would use the classic 'I've played in three countries' to claim he's better than Messi.

"I'm surprised that he would leave Real Madrid and go to Italy," Giggs said in 2018. "I think it's a big challenge for him but he's going to a huge club.

"Having that on your CV... Real Madrid, Manchester United and Juventus. It's some CV. It will be a challenge for him at 33.

"He's obsessed with being better than Messi. 'I did it in England, I did it in Spain, I'm going to do it in Italy. I did it with Portugal.' So maybe that will be his argument when [he thinks] 'Am I better than Messi'?"

Giggs knew exactly what was coming, but Ronaldo is right that he's proved himself in three countries, whereas Messi has only ever played in Spain with Barcelona.

Does that make him the better player, though? Debatable.