5 footballing personalities who refused to choose between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are widely regarded as two of the best players to have graced the beautiful game.
Throughout their nearly two-decade-long careers, the duo have been standout performers for club and country. Two of the most prolific scorers since the turn of the century, Messi and Ronaldo have tallied almost 1000 goal contributions apiece.
They are the only two players to win at least five Ballon d'Or awards and score 100 Champions League goals. Messi and Ronaldo are still going strong despite being on the wrong side of 30.
Many players and managers in the game have often picked one player over the other. But there are a few who have refused to call either Messi or Ronaldo a better player than the other. Here, we give you five such individuals who refused to pick between Messi and Ronaldo.
#5 Luis Enrique
Ahead of a meeting against Portugal last year, Spain manager Luis Enrique was asked who he thought was the better player between Messi and Ronaldo.
However, Enrique, who managed Messi for three years at Barcelona, refused to pick one. Instead, he said both players deserved praise for their high level of performance despite being on the wrong side of 30.
"What is worthy of praise is the fact that players like Cristiano and Leo Messi keep getting older but maintaining such a high-level thanks to their professionalism, their ambition and their capacity to be motivated and keep achieving goals. Both Cristiano and Messi are examples of that," Enrique said.
Luis Enrique won 83.3% of his games in his debut campaign as Barcelona manager.
Oh, and he won the treble. http://t.co/iMfr5S0bE9
Recently, Enrique took Spain to the semi-finals of Euro 2020. The tournament saw Cristiano Ronaldo score five goals and record an assist, but his efforts failed to avert holders Portugal's Round-of-16 exit.
#4 Andre Gomes
Portugal midfielder Andre Gomes is one of a handful of players who have played with both Messi and Ronaldo. The 28-year-old played alongside Messi at Barcelona for three years (2016-18), while Gomes plays with Ronaldo for Portugal.
During an interview with Catalunya Radio's Tot Costa program four years ago, the then Barcelona midfielder was asked to pick between Messi and Ronaldo. Gomes simply replied that he had immense respect for both players, and refused to choose one over the other, saying:
"I do not like to compare them out of respect. I will never answer it. I'm Portuguese, and I have affection for Cristiano. As much as I do for Messi, who is my teammate at Barcelona."
🔵🔴 @FCBarcelona it was an honour. Thanks! twitter.com/FCBarcelona/st…
The 2017-18 La Liga winner scored just three times for Barcelona in nearly 80 games. For Portugal, Gomes, who now turns out for Everton at club level, is yet to open his account after playing 29 games.