Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo admits that the rivalry between himself and Barcelona's Lionel Messi has motivated both the superstars to work harder and perform better.
Ronaldo and Messi have been dominating the world of football for quite some time now, with the duo sharing the last seven Player of the Year awards between them.
Apart from that, Ronaldo and Messi have also been sweeping other top honours and toppling records.
This seaosn, the duo surpassed former Real Madrid striker Raul's all time record of 71 goals in the Champions League, with Messi and Ronaldo scoring 75 and 72 goals respectively.
And Ronaldo, who was recently voted as the winner of the 2014 Ballon d'Or award, believes that the rivalry between him and Messi have driven both the players to get better and better.
"I'm sure that the competition between us is a motivating factor for him too," said Ronaldo, according to Spanish newspaper AS. "It's good for me, for him [Messi] and for other players who are keen to grow."
"Messi has four Ballon d'Or awards, I have three. This is all good for the world of football."
Meanwhile, the 29-year-old says that he is not really satisfied with his freekicks of late.
"I'm currently trying to improve my left foot, my acceleration and my direct freekicks. I've not had a great deal of success recently with them," Ronaldo added.
Although the Portuguese is confident that his ability to deliver perfect freekicks will eventually "come back", he admits that "things won't progress" if he does not work hard in training.
"I know that it will come back. It's just a question of having enough humility to know that without training hard, things won't progress. Working on my game is my guide," added Ronaldo.
Finally the former Manchester United forward says that taking care of himself has been the key to his success.
"If I'm able to play more than 60 games per season, it's because I look after myself," Ronaldo added. "I sleep well, I eat well. In these ways I look for perfection too. If not, one can't keep this rhythm of playing up."
