Cristiano Ronaldo's son starstruck by Lionel Messi

Video: Could Cristiano Jr.'s love of Messi bring the two great rivals closer together?

His father may be the current FIFA Ballon d'Or winner after his third triumph, yet it seems Cristiano Ronaldo's son is in awe of his dad's great rival, Lionel Messi.

Video from Monday's Ballon d'Or gala shows four-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi affectionately greeting Cristiano Jr., patting him on the head and asking him how he is doing.

Ronaldo then calls from across the room, "He watched a video on the Internet about us and he talks about you".

He then tells his son, "Don't be embarrassed now!"

While Ronaldo appears at ease seated, when he addresses Messi, the Argentine appears to smile rather sheepishly, placing his hands in his pockets.

There has always been intense speculation that the two greatest players in the world do not see eye-to-eye. Those rumours may not dissipate with the evident affection felt by Cristiano Jr. towards Messi: voting for the Ballon d'Or revealed that Ronaldo and Messi did not nominate each other in their own top-three choices.

Last year, Spanish journalist Guillam Balague stated in his book on Messi that the pair were not friends and that Ronaldo had an extremely disrespectful nickname for his rival. Ronaldo described Balague's claim as "absolutely false" and said he had told his lawyer to take action.

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The Real Madrid-man scored 57 goals for club and country in 2014 along with clinching four trophies, helping him to retain his Ballon d'Or trophy on Monday evening.

The 29-year-old beat off Messi and Manuel Neuer, receiving 37.66 per cent of the votes cast by a panel of captains, coaches and media members. Messi took second with 15.76 per cent.