Tyson Fury has hailed Cristiano Ronaldo as the ‘greatest footballer that has ever lived’ at a Champions Gala in Riyadh.
The Gypsy King is all set to take on Francis Ngannou in the ‘Battle of the Baddest’ tonight in Saudi Arabia.
But before he takes to battle, a VIP event with some of the biggest sporting stars in the world took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Among the guests was former Real Madrid and Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo.
Speaking to the five-time Ballon D’Or winner on a sofa, Fury said: ‘Cristiano you are the greatest footballer that has ever lived, and I mean that.
Tyson Fury and Cristiano Ronaldo sit down to chat at a Champions Gala event in Riyadh
The Gypsy King snubbed Messi to tell Ronaldo he thought he was the ‘greatest footballer ever’
‘I am a big fan. I watched you at United the first time, the second time and all your time at Real Madrid.’
It appears the heavyweight champion of the world is not too big a fan of Lionel Messi.
Also in attendance at the Champions Gala was the entire Fury family, Manny Pacquiao, Mike Tyson, Israel Adesanya, Chuck Liddell, Lenox Lewis, Oscar de la Hoya and Oleksandr Usyk.
Since Ronaldo’s £172million two year move to Al Nassr, he has had ample opportunity to attend high-profile fighting events which have been staged in Saudi Arabia.
Discussing the upcoming fight, Fury told the media: ‘It’s like a table tennis champion facing Djokovic in the Wimbledon final, totally different.’
Yesterday, Fury and Usyk came face-to-face in Saudi Arabia after they signed a contract last month for an undisputed world heavyweight title battle later this year, with the bout to take place in Riyadh on December 23.
The pair have regularly traded various insults in recent times – which included Fury labelling Usyk a ‘sausage’ – before they bumped into each other after walking a red carpet of boxing royalty ahead of a gala dinner on the eve of Fury-Ngannou.
And the pair shared an unexpected embrace, before the Ukrainian lifted up his rival champion.