Cristiano Ronaldo has responded to former team-mate Fabio Paim joking that he should win one of the Ballon d’Or awards.
Paim, a childhood friend of Ronaldo’s, opened up about his relationship with the Manchester United legend in an exclusive interview with SunSport.
Payim told the Sem Remorses podcast that his career would be more fruitful if he were “half as good as Cristiano.”
Ronaldo, 38, then cheekily replied to the post.
He seemingly sarcastically wrote: “Wtf. 👀👀👀Who is this guy?”
Former Sports Academy product Paim later joked that he had asked Ronaldo for a Ballon d’Or gong.
Speaking to SunSport, Payim recalled how they ended up eating leftover McDonald’s together.
He revealed they even flew on holiday together just weeks before Ronaldo lit up Euro 2004.
While Paim was the only player Ronaldo claimed to be better than him, his partying lifestyle brought his career to ruin.
At just 13 years old he earned a staggering £327,000, but money and fame didn’t go well for him.
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Asked if he could win Ballon d’Ors and titles like Ronaldo, Pam told SunSport: “Yes. I believe so. Cristiano did it and so can I.”
“To this day, there is no one as young as me. I was better than Cristiano at that time. I worked in a different way to them (Ronaldo and Lionel Messi).
“I started making a lot of money and becoming famous very early. It put me on a different path and that’s why I don’t belong and I don’t deserve it.
“I was born with talent. When I made a lot of money, I had the illusion that I didn’t need to put in the effort.
“When I was 13, my monthly salary was €19,000 plus a bonus of €150,000 a year. It was always going up. It was so fast.
“I always took care of my family because my family’s income was the highest when I was 12 years old. My mother was a domestic helper for others.
“I can spend money on my stuff and even if I make a mistake, I never draw attention to it.
“No one said anything because I was so good. Sporting CP wanted me to play, so as long as I keep playing at this level, they let me do whatever I want.”
In fact, Paim even spent 12 months in the notorious Caxias prison and watched Ronaldo train with Portugal through a window.