Cristiano Ronaldo has come under a scathing attack from Zlatan Ibrahimovic after the five-time Ballon d'Or winner issued a challenge to rival Lionel Messi to follow in his footsteps and move to Italy's Serie A.
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The Portuguese superstar completed a £100 million (R1.78 billion) move from Real Madrid to Juventus in July 2018, and subsequently stated that Messi should look to ply his trade in the Italian top flight in a bid to prove he is one of the all-time greats.
Ronaldo currently tops the goalscoring charts in his debut season in Italy, with 14 goals thus far, while Messi leads the scoring chart in Spain with 17 strikes.
"I'd like him (Messi) to come to Italy one day. I hope he accepts the challenge like me, but if he's happy there then I respect that," Ronaldo said of Messi in December, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Ibrahimovic, having clinched league titles in France, Holland, Italy and Spain, added to the League Cup and UEFA Europa League trophies he won with Manchester United, has now taken aim at Ronaldo for joining an already well-established Juventus outfit.
"Cristiano is talking about new challenges, he calls it a challenge to move to a club where it is already normal to win the Serie A," the Swede was quoted as saying by the Daily Express.
"Why did he not choose a club from a second division a few years ago?
"Try to become a champion with such a second-division club and lead them to the highest level, which is a challenge.
"It is bulls***, moving to Juventus is not a challenge at all."
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The Bianconeri are on course for their eighth successive league title as they sit at the summit of the Serie A table after 19 games played with a nine-point lead.
Do you agree with Ibrahimovic on Ronaldo's "challenge" claims? Let us know in the comments section below.
