Messi and Ronaldo have been the biggest rivals in football over the past decade, sharing five Ballon d O'r awards among each other.
The Portuguese's departure to Serie A has left Messi with no competition in the league on the individual level.
The Barcelona captain finished the season with 36 goals La Liga and 13 assists, the closest goalscorers to him were Karim Benzema and Luis Suarez who had 21 goals each.
Speaking about his rival, while on international duty Messi said: "He's a special player. The whole league misses him, including me. The healthy rivalry between Cristiano and I is something that you rarely see.""There is no battle but a healthy one. Cristiano is a great player and of course, he motivates me to be even better."
Messi also spoke about his relationship former teammate, Neymar who has come under many transfer speculation.
"Neymar is a phenomenon and yes, we continue to talk. The name of the group has something to do with South America ... 'The Three Sudacas' or something like that."
The Argentine captain also spoke about his future with the Catalan giants and the five-time Ballon d'Or winner added:
"I don't know. Perhaps one day I will play in the Argentinian league.""My dream as a child was to play for Newells in their stadium""The day I stop enjoying football is the day I will end my career"
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