Ronaldo famously admitted Paim is the only player better than him when he joined Manchester United after the pair came through the Sporting academy together.
But they took very different paths as Ronaldo won five Ballons d’Or, five Champions Leagues and led Portugal to Euro 2016 glory.
Paim, though, earned £6,500 per week at 13 but saw his career fizzle out thanks to the money, fame and partying lifestyle.
And it hit rock bottom when Paim was put behind bars for a year on drug trafficking charges – and watched his old pal training with Portugal from his prison window.
Paim, 35, joked in his exclusive interview with SunSport that his old McDonald’s loving pal should give him one of his Ballons d’Or after failing to hit the world-class heights many expected because he didn’t have the same mentality as the Manchester United and Real Madrid legend.
But Ronaldo, 38, cheekily commented on Instagram: “Wtf. 👀👀👀 who is this guy?”
However, Paim believes the veteran forward is simply messing around – and the playful quip has helped bring the former footballer back into the public limelight again.
He told SunSport: “I don’t want to make this longer but I don’t think what Cristiano said was serious, it was a joke.
“But it has had a good impact – people are talking about our relationship.
