Dani Alves says he can finally express his admiration for Cristiano Ronaldo, as it seemed he wasn't allowed to do so while playing for Barcelona.
The Brazilian often came up against Ronaldo in El Clasico, which was quite an explosive affair when the two players were in the Spanish top flight.
The 39-year-old says he has a lot of respect for Ronaldo and his hard work throughout the years.
Read: Ex-Man Utd star: You will always need Ronaldo
"I love Cristiano. Now that we are no longer at Barca and Madrid I can speak, because it always seemed like I couldn't.
"Cristiano exemplifies, for all of us who don't have that much quality, that with hard work you can also compete against the best.
"I respect him a lot and I had the opportunity to tell him. There came a time because of the rivalry that I went up to greet him and he didn't greet me.
"There was a controversy that never came out, but in the Ballon d'Or dressing room we had a 'scuffle'.
"I greeted everyone and he didn't greet me because of what Barca-Madrid was generating outside.
'How can I not respect a guy who got everything based on work?
"I identify with him, because everything I did in my life was based on that."
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