Cristiano Ronaldo dreams of facing the "magic" Lionel Messi in the World Cup final as two footballing greats head into the twilight of their careers.
The 37-year-old Ronaldo will hope to help Portugal escape Group H, where they face Ghana next Thursday before clashes against Uruguay and South Korea.
Messi, 35, heads to Qatar with one of the pre-tournament favourites, Argentina, who start Group C against Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, with meetings against Mexico and Poland to follow.
Having battled for centre stage against former Barcelona star Messi for numerous years, ex-Real Madrid forward Ronaldo admitted he would love to face his old foe in the World Cup showpiece on December 18.
"It's too good, too good of a dream," Ronaldo told Piers Morgan on TalkTV in his wide-ranging interview, in which he criticised Manchester United, senior figures at Old Trafford, Erik ten Hag and Ralf Rangnick.
The pair share 12 Ballon d'Or titles between them, with Messi's record-breaking seven two more than Ronaldo's haul, surmising a dominant period in elite football between the evergreen duo.
Messi now plays his club football with Paris Saint-Germain, while Ronaldo's time at United appears to be heading to an abrupt end amid the furore of his scathing interview on his current employers.
The Portugal international, despite the revered battles between the pair throughout their respective careers, assured he has a "great relationship" with Messi, who he would like to sit down for a meal with.
"He is an amazing player, he is magic. As a person, he is top. We shared the stage for 16 years, imagine," he added.
"I have a great relationship with him. I'm not a friend of him in terms of the guy who is at your house, speaking on the phone, no, but he is like a team-mate.
"He's a guy that I really respect the way he always speaks about me. Even his wife or my wife, my girlfriend, they always respect and they're both from Argentina.
"What I am going to say about Messi? A great guy who does great things for football."
Blaugrana legend Messi has been linked with a move to Major League Soccer or a fairytale reunion with Barca, who he left amid well-documented financial difficulties at Camp Nou in August 2021.
The future of Ronaldo appears unlikely to remain with United, though he suggested he would like to call an end to his playing career aged 40.
"I want to play two years more, three years more. So two or three years maximum," he continued.
"I want to finish at 40. I think 40, will be a good age… But I don't know, I don't know the future.
"Sometimes you plan one thing for your life and as have said many times, life is dynamic. You never know what's going to happen."
Bayern Munich 9-2 Dinamo Zagreb: Record-breaking Kane scores four in demolition
Harry Kane produced a remarkable four-goal haul to make English history as Bayern Munich demolished visitors Dinamo Zagreb 9-2 in their record-breaking Champions League opener.
Kane, who scored a hat-trick in their Bundesliga win over Holstein Kiel on Saturday, converted a 19th-minute penalty before goals from Raphael Guerreiro and Michael Olise in the first half on Tuesday.
Bruno Petkovic and Takuya Ogiwara led a fightback early in the second half, with Dinamo hoping to find a way back, but Bayern responded through goals from Kane and Olise.
Kane netted his third and fourth with penalties shortly after, helping him onto 33 strikes in the competition and comfortably past Wayne Rooney's 30-goal record among English players in the Champions League.
Leroy Sane added another in the 85th before fellow substitute Leon Goretzka headed in the hosts' record-breaking ninth finish, the most by one team in a single match since the Champions League was introduced.
Data Debrief: Penalty perfection for Kane
Deadly finisher Kane accumulated 3.76 expected goals (xG) of Bayern's total 6.27 tally for the match, with the 31-year-old finding the target with six of his eight attempts in what proved to be a total domination.
Kane is the first player to score a hat-trick of penalties in a European Cup/Champions League match, and the first Englishman to score four in a match in the competition since Alan Smith for Arsenal against FK Austria Wien in 1991.
There was history elsewhere, however, as Thomas Muller appeared in his 152nd Champions League match for Bayern, breaking Xavi's record for the most matches with one club in the competition (151 for Barcelona).
Vincent Kompany will be looking forward to the rest of this European term, too, after Bayern started a 21st straight campaign in the competition with victory, with their last such defeat coming against Deportivo de La Coruna back in 2002-03.
Manchester United 7-0 Barnsley: Rampant Rashford nets twice in EFL Cup rout
Marcus Rashford was on target again with a double as Manchester United demolished third-tier Barnsley 7-0 at Old Trafford in the EFL Cup third round.
Rashford had scored his first goal since mid-March in Saturday's Premier League victory at Southampton, after which Erik ten Hag predicted more would follow.
And the United manager was quickly proven right as Rashford grabbed the first and fifth goals on Tuesday, helping to fire the Red Devils into the last 16 of the EFL Cup.
Rashford, who netted in United's final victory over Newcastle United in this competition two seasons ago, appeared full of confidence after 16 minutes as he brought down Alejandro Garnacho's crossfield pass, skipped past Marc Roberts and blasted into the top corner.
The exiled England international was not alone among United's under-fire forwards in enjoying a productive game in front of goal either, with Antony getting his first of the season by winning and converting a penalty.
It was three on the stroke of half-time as Garnacho prodded in after Rashford was tackled in the area, and the excellent Argentina winger scored again shortly after the restart.
Rashford raced onto another Garnacho pass and finished coolly just before the hour mark, before Christian Eriksen added a late brace of his own.
Data Debrief: He shoots, he scores
It was hard to foresee Rashford's three-goal week prior to the Southampton match – primarily because the United number 10 was not shooting, let alone scoring.
Rashford appeared in United's first three Premier League matches of the season without even attempting a shot, but Barnsley's goal was subjected to target practice on Tuesday as his confidence returned.
Those two Rashford goals came from six attempts, including five from inside the box as he thrived in a central striking role after so often toiling on the left wing.
Ronaldo's Al Nassr dismiss head coach Castro
Al Nassr are on the hunt for a new boss after dismissing head coach Luis Castro, the Saudi Pro League side confirmed on Tuesday.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Co. have struggled through an underwhelming start to the season, winning just one of their opening three league fixtures of the campaign.
The Riyadh club were also defeated in the Saudi Super Cup final 4-1 against champions Al Hilal last month.
Al Nassr have seen enough, swiftly moving to part ways with 63-year-old Castro, who previously took charge of Brazilian Serie A side Botafago.
"Everyone at AlNassr would like to thank Luis and his staff for their dedicated work during the past 14 months," the club said in a brief statement on social media.
Castro, a fellow Portugal compatriot to Ronaldo, led the club to lift the Arab Club Champions Cup last year, a competition contested by 37 teams from Asia and Africa.
However, Al Nassr finished second in the league last season, 14 points behind Jorge Jesus' Al Hilal, who were inspired by the goal-scoring exploits of Aleksandar Mitrovic.
Al Nassr drew 1-1 against Al Shorta of Iraq on Monday in the opening game of the AFC Champions League Elite, which proved to be Castro's final match at the helm.
Stefano Pioli, formerly of AC Milan, is one of Al Nassr's preferred replacements according to reports in local Saudi media.
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