"This ba****d doesn't let you breathe for a second" - Dani Alves says Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo has been his greatest rival

Barcelona legend Dani Alves has hailed Manchester United ace Cristiano Ronaldo as the fiercest rival he has ever faced. Calling Ronaldo a goalscoring machine, Alves claimed that the Portuguese never offered a moment of respite to the opposition defenders.

Cristiano Ronaldo, who plied his trade at Real Madrid for nine successful years between 2009 and 2018, regularly went toe-to-toe with Barcelona stalwart Alves. With Ronaldo primarily operating down the left flank, right-back Alves (2009 to 2016) was the Barca player he most frequently clashed with.

🐐 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹. 👑 @Cristiano

#VesteABandeira 🇵🇹 #WearTheFlag https://t.co/OB0a2QzTN6

Speaking in an interview with ESPN, the Brazilian admitted that Ronaldo was a handful for him, not allowing him a moment’s respite. When asked to name his greatest rival, the UNAM Pumas player said (via Barca Universal):

“Cristiano Ronaldo. This ba****d doesn’t let you breathe for a second. I didn’t do too badly, but it’s hard. He’s a scoring machine.”

At Barcelona, Alves faced Ronaldo a total of 24 times across competitions, emerging victorious on 12 occasions and losing six times.

Cristiano Ronaldo finally gets his first goal as Manchester United downs Sheriff Tiraspol

Manchester United traveled to Moldova for their UEFA Europa League gameweek two clash against Sheriff Tiraspol on Thursday night (September 15). Having endured a 1-0 defeat in their Europa League opener against Real Sociedad last week (September 8), United needed to bring back maximum points from their trip.

Goals from Jadon Sancho and Cristiano Ronaldo ensured that United did not remain without a win after two Europa League matches this season. Sancho’s 17th minute strike was brilliantly taken, with the Englishman finding the bottom-right corner of Sheriff’s goal with a left-footed striker.

Happy to score and help the team win! 3 important points!
Well done lads 👏🏽💪🏽 https://t.co/Gb7mTJcqqd

Ronaldo’s goal, on the other hand, came from the spot after Diogo Dalot won his team a penalty (38th minute). In what was his third starting XI appearance this season, Ronaldo dispatched the penalty down the middle of Sheriff keeper Maksym Koval’s goal. With the keeper diving to his right, the ball rippled the netting, unchallenged. The goal marked Ronaldo’s first of the 2022-23 season across competitions and his 399th across all clubs.

Following Thursday’s win, United now find themselves in second place in the Europa League Group E standings. Real Sociedad, with six points from two matches, are the current league leaders.