Cristiano Ronaldo Hits Back at Balague's Claims of Rude Messi Nickname

Cristiano Ronaldo has vehemently denied having a rude nickname for Lionel Messi, insisting the claims made were false and he would consider legal action.

Renowned Spanish journalist Guillem Balague, in his book "MESSI", has claimed Ronaldo had a nickname for the Barcelona man behind closed doors to the tune of "mother*****."

Writing in his book, Balague mentions Ronaldo and Messi are far from friends and do not really like each other. The journalist goes on to claim that the Real Madrid superstar even has a nickname for Messi that he uses within his social circles, with the Portuguese also calling anyone who talks to Messi by the same name as well.

"Ronaldo, perhaps as a symptom of the immaturity that marks so many footballers, thinks it necessary to put on a brave face in front of his teammates, not be scared of Messi and to rise to the challenge," Balague says in his book which is being serialised by The Telegraph.

"All very macho and all very false. And that is why, according to some Real Madrid players, CR7 has a nickname for him [Messi]: "mother*****".

"And if he sees someone from the club speaking to Leo, he also ends up being baptised "mother*****."

Balague also claimed Ronaldo belittles the Messi behind closed doors.

"In that environment, Ronaldo usually compares their relationship with that between the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom," added Balague in his book.

"And the Madrid players, with their less than subtle dressing room sense of humour, have a long list of jokes that include Messi as Ronaldo's dog or puppet, or kept in a designer handbag belonging to the Portuguese player, and much worse."

Ronaldo, of course, was never going to remain silent on the topic, and the Real Madrid player took to Facebook to deny the claims.

"News is circulating that I allegedly made offending remarks regarding Lionel Messi," said Ronaldo on his official Facebook page.

"This is absolutely false and I have assured my lawyer takes action to sue those responsible.

"I have the utmost respect for all my professional colleagues, and Messi is obviously no exception."

Ronaldo and Messi are considered to be the two best players in the world at the moment, and the duo are currently in an intense battle for the Champions League all-time scorers record, with Messi, last week, joining Raul at the top of the list.