Crouch added: "Rio said the other United players would try to wind him up.
"Rio said the other United players would try to wind him up.
"'Whatever. Leo Messi is a better player than you.'
"And he would shrug his shoulders and smile again. 'Ah yes. But Messi does not look like this.'"
Something tells us he wouldn't concede that point now, though.
The 33-year-old is yet to get off the mark for new club Juventus in his three appearances to date - not that it'll be long before he does.
As Ronaldo enjoyed his time off at the French Riviera, his Portugal teammates were busy handing Italy another disappointing result in the UEFA Nations League.
Portugal did not need Ronaldo - who skipped international duty to recharge after a busy summer - to beat Italy 1-0 in Europe's newest soccer competition. Elsewhere, Turkey mounted a remarkable comeback from two goals down against Sweden, while Kosovo made history with its first competitive win since being admitted to UEFA in 2016.
The European champions easily outplayed Italy, which had opened its Nations League campaign with a disappointing 1-1 home draw against Poland in its first competitive match under coach Roberto Mancini.
"We must be more effective in attack," Mancini said. "We must find solutions and be able to score goals." Andre Silva scored on a counterattack early in the second half to give Portugal the Group 3 win in the top-tier League A. The hosts had several chances to extend their lead at the Stadium of Light in Lisbon, while Italy created little and relied mostly on set pieces.
"It was a fair result, we played better throughout the match," said Portugal coach Fernando Santos, who led his team to its ninth straight home win. "Only in the final 10 minutes we slowed our pace a bit and that allowed Italy to grow." The Nations League gives UEFA's 55 member countries competitive games and eliminates friendlies. The winners of the League A groups - featuring the highest-ranked countries - go into a final-four competition in June. Santos did not call up Ronaldo after talking to the player and saying he needed more rest following the World Cup and his transfer from Real Madrid to Juventus.
Ronaldo also didn't play in the team's 1-1 draw in a friendly against Croatia last week.
Social media photos showed Ronaldo and his family enjoying time off in Monaco in recent days.
It was Italy's second competitive match since last year's World Cup playoff loss to Sweden.
"There is work to do," Italy midfielder Giacomo Bonaventura said. "We wanted to threaten them but we didn't manage it and we're really disappointed." HISTORIC KOSOVO Two goals five minutes apart early in the second half gave Kosovo a historic 2-0 win over the Faroe Islands in Group 3 of the fourth-tier League D. Kosovo, the Balkan republic which was accepted by UEFA and FIFA two years ago, had opened with a 0-0 draw at Azerbaijan.
