Ronaldo still lives the rivalry between Sporting and Benfica: I won’t comment on any other Portuguese club than Sporting

One shot, the other assisted. Both Cristiano Ronaldo and Ángel Di María had substantial and successful careers at Real Madrid. While Cristiano did not return to his native Sporting Lisbon in his old age, Di María remembered Benfica.

Ángel Di María is currently finishing a very eventful career. Apart from the Bundesliga, he has played in each of the top 5 leagues, namely the Premier League for Manchester United, Ligue 1 in the colours of PSG and La Liga for the famous Real Madrid.

His Italian mission was with Juventus. It seemed that Di María was going to a famous club to finish his career, but in his old age, he started to get into the form that made Argentina successful at the Winter World Cup in Qatar. Ángel contributed to the overall triumph with, among other things, a great performance in the final.

After the end of his year at Juventus, he decided to return to Benfica, which prepared him for big-time football. Moreover, after reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League last year, he and his team have the potential to challenge for top positions not only in the Portuguese league.

The question of Di María’s transfer to Benfica was put to his former Real Madrid teammate Cristiano Ronaldo during the build-up to the season. The offspring of rival Sporting Lisbon is clearly still feeling the city rivalry.

“If you ask me about Sporting, I will answer. But I will not comment on another Portuguese club,” CR7 replied emphatically.

Ronaldo’s slight irritation may stem from Di María’s comments to the Daily Star. He spoke out some time ago when asked which of his four former teammates (Lionel Messi, Neymar, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Ronaldo) he considers the best.

“Leo is the best of the four. Cristiano is a monster, Neymar is a toy. The Brazilian who, when he plays, entertains with everything,” di Maria replied.

Whether the former Real teammates will meet again at a professional level is hard to judge. While UEFA is considering granting the Saudi Arabian league an exemption and allowing its teams to play in European cups, will the two veterans still be playing in the meantime?

Source: Daily Star