Legendary chess player Magnus Carlsen has revealed that he was once told to say Cristiano Ronaldo was his favourite player during a Real Madrid interview.The Norwegian grandmaster and five-time World Chess Champion, who reportedly has an IQ of 190, was speaking on the Lex Fridman podcast when he was asked who the greatest footballer of all time is.“I think it’s pretty hard to make a case for anybody else than [Lionel] Messi for his all-round game,” he said.The 31-year-old added: “My Real Madrid fandom sort of predates the Ronaldo era - the second Ronaldo, not the first one [Ronaldo Nazario].“I always liked Ronaldo but I always kind of thought that Messi was better.Lionel Messi Barcelona celebrationBARCELONA, SPAIN - MAY 06: Lionel Messi of Barcelona celebrates after scoring his sides second goal during the La Liga match between Barcelona and Real Madrid at Camp Nou on May 6, 2018 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)“I went to quite a number of Madrid games and they’ve always been super helpful to me down there. The only thing is that they were going to do an interview and they were going to ask me who my favourite player was.“I said somebody else, I think it was Isco at that point, and they were like: ‘Okay, take two, now you say Ronaldo’.“So for them it was very important, but it wasn’t that huge to me.”Cristiano Ronaldo with his five Ballon d'Or awardsMADRID, SPAIN - DECEMBER 09: Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid CF poses with his five Golden Ball (Ballon d'Or) trophies prior to start the La Liga match between Real Madrid CF and Sevilla FC at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on December 9, 2017 in Madrid, Spain . (Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)

Magnus Carlsen: I was told to say Ronaldo is my favourite player

The clip has gone viral on social media.

Watch it here:

At the height of the Ronaldo vs Messi rivalry, it felt like everyone associated with Real Madrid and Barcelona had to publicly side with their respective team’s star player.

It was like an unwritten rule.

If Real Madrid signed a player, that player would declare that Ronaldo was the world’s best footballer. Or vice-versa with Barcelona and Messi.

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND - JANUARY 11: FIFA Ballon d'Or nominees Lionel Messi of Argentina and FC Barcelona (L) and Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal and Real Madrid (R) attend a press conference prior to the FIFA Ballon d'Or Gala 2015 at the Kongresshaus on January 11, 2016 in Zurich, Switzerland. (Photo by Philipp Schmidli/Getty Images)

Now that both players are no longer at La Liga’s big two clubs, though, things have changed a bit.

However, because there is no right or wrong answer, the debate over which of the two legends is superior is likely to rage on for many years to come.

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