One of these men has dedicated his life to the pursuit of excellence with a singlemindedness that is seldom seen.

The other is Piers Morgan, who has made a career out of being a total knob, with Meghan Markle the current target of much of his ire.

Cristiano Ronaldo is far from my favourite footballer, but his on-field achievements speak for themselves, and he will go down in history as one of the greatest of all time when he hangs up his boots.

The less said about some of his recent adverts, however, the better.

Anyway, the Portuguese superstar recently sat down with Piers for a lengthy ITV interview, and it was one of those rare occasions where the footballer actually let his guard down.

Via the Telegraph, here are some standout moments:

…it was an engaging conversation full of surprises. The 34-year-old Portuguese football phenomenon was far more relaxed and candid than we’ve seen him before. Contrary to his remote and arrogant image, Ronaldo emerged as decent, down-to-earth, warm and even witty…

Father-of-four Ronaldo admitted that his high profile meant he’d never taken his children to the park and that he completely trusted only four people in the world (I’ll wager Morgan wasn’t one of them). He told an amusing story about donning a wig and false moustache to attend a nightclub incognito, and a poignant one about a McDonald’s employee called Edna who used to slip him leftover burgers during his impoverished youth.

He broke down in tears after being shown a video of his late father José, a traumatised army veteran who died of alcoholism-related liver disease when Ronaldo was 20, saying how proud he was. His greatest regret, Ronaldo sobbed, is that his father never got to see him become a superstar.

Let’s see that exchange:

Ronaldo did get off lightly when it came to the recent rape accusations that resurfaced, which have since been dropped amidst rumours that he paid the woman in question $375 000 not to pursue the case.

As is customary, Piers had to make some part of the show all about himself and his love for Arsenal:

…professional Arsenal bore Morgan established that Ronaldo once nearly signed for the North London club, so presented him with a Gunners shirt – the same lame stunt he pulled with Trump last year. Such shameless brown-nosing, along with a tendency to talk about himself too much, were Morgan’s main flaws.

Add that to the long, long list of his flaws.

There was also some mention of the rivalry with Leo Messi:

“Messi is a fantastic guy, a fantastic player. He’s in the history of football – but I think I have to have six or seven or eight [Ballon d’Or awards] to be above him.

“My relationship with him is, we are not friends, but we have shared this stage for 15 years.

“I have a good relationship with him and I know that he has pushed me to be a better player and I have pushed him to be a better player as well.”

The 34-year-old, who agreed that Messi is the best he has played against, hopes to be remembered as one of the best – if not the best – footballers the game has ever seen.

Only when both have retired will we truly appreciate how that rivalry propelled them to perform year after year at such incredible levels.

[source:telegraph]