My greatness pushed Messi to WC glory

Cristiano Ronaldo has called time on his career after Messi won the World Cup beating France in an epic encounter that stretched till the penalties.

In a new interview with Piers Morgan, Ronaldo said that there is "nothing more" to compete for. "I have won it all, and my greatness ensured Leo won the world cup as well. Do you think he ever could win the World Cup if he was not competing with me?" stated an emotional Ronaldo.

"I am happy for him. All the years of hard work and talent that he brought to the pitch for Barcelona was honed by the competition we had. If it wasn't for me, and all the races for Ballon d'Or, he would not have been where he is right now," added Ronaldo.

He also expressed his ease now that the GOAT debate is finally over.

"I can enjoy myself now that my fans don't have to worry about the GOAT debate. Messi winning the World Cup for Argentina? It was expected. The country has football heritage. I single-handedly put Portugal on the world map after chancers like Luis Figo and Eusebio failed to achieve anything substantial. If I was at my prime, we would not have lost the Euros to Greece. I respect Figo but his immaturity lost me my first ever Euros title, and I had to wait for more than 10 years to win it."

Ronaldo also said, while wiping his eyes, "You know, Piers, the moon cannot shine without the light of the sun, so, I'm happy for Leo's shining sun moment. My job is done, it is now time to retire as the GOAT."

Ronaldo ended the interview by ranking his "best ever" 5-a-side football team which included the "English GOAT" Peter Crouch, Argentina's Sergio Romero, and Mesut Ozil. Ronaldo included himself twice in the squad stating that GOATs get two lives in this special match, and no one can compare to his quality of finish, which he demonstrated in the Qatar World Cup.