Ever since leaving Real Madrid and Spain’s La Liga to join Juventus in Italy’s Serie A two years ago, football fans haven’t had many chances to see Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi compete against each other. But the group stage of the 2020-2021 UEFA Champions League offered a chance to for the world’s best footballers to share the pitch after Juventus was placed in Group G, which also includes Messi’s Barcelona. 

Unfortunately, fans will have to wait for a while before they see Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi add another chapter to their rivalry after the 35-year old was ruled out of Juventus’ fixture against Barcelona today after testing positive for COVID-19 earlier this month. Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon D’Or winner, still has not presented a negative test result before the match, which ruled him out of what should be an exciting match between two of Europe’s best clubs. 

Ronaldo, just like everyone else, was frustrated that he will sit out a much-anticipated match. While he posted a picture on Instagram that he is ready to cheer for his teammates and that he is feeling good and healthy, he later commented, “PCR is bullsh*t,” referring to the PCR or polymerase chair reaction tests that are used to determine whether one is positive for COVID-19. 

Cristiano Ronaldo has been self-isolating for several weeks after playing for Portugal’s national team earlier this month and has played just two matches for Juventus in the Serie A. Fans, however, will get the chance to see Ronaldo and Messi compete against each other when Juventus and Barcelona play each other at Camp Nou on December 9.