Gheorghe Hagi feels Lionel Messi is like Roger Federer while Cristiano Ronaldo is like Novak Djokovic
Two legends of the game have enthralled supporters for more than a decade now and a debate between the two might go on till the end of the world. Yes, the topic is Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo, where these two enigmas of the footballing world have been fighting it out against each other and have divided opinion amongst the pundits of the game.
Romanian star Gheorghe Hagi, who himself is considered as one of the best to grace the football field, recently talked about the influence of the two and also interestingly compared them with tennis superstars like Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
Hagi is of the view that being motivated is the key to being successful in any sport and he believes both Messi and Ronaldo have done that. The Romanian maestro who enjoyed greatness in the 90s has played for both Real Madrid and FC Barcelona in his playing career and hence his loyalties are somewhat shared when it comes to deciding between the two but Hagi has admitted that his fondness lies towards the Argentine Messiah.
Revealed: 11 countries that rejected Cristiano Ronaldo in Ballon d'Or voting
Cristiano Ronaldo recently won his fourth Ballon d'Or, the highest individual honour in football and has brought down the difference between him and Messi to just one gong. Highlighting the importance of motivation to sustain at this level, Hagi said, "The difference on the field isn't always the motivation in life. It is the player's ambition. What you did yesterday no longer works, today you go onto the field and you have to be the best.
“The football players aren't actors. In the movies, you make a film and you can watch it 100 times. No, not for the player, each game is different. So you have to be motivated. That's my opinion, the player has to be motivated."
When Hagi was asked to compare the two giants of the game, the Romanian answered in a very creative way as he compared them to the two legends of Tennis. He said, "We are living through a football era with two amazing players, one has technical quality and the other has strength.
“You can have a great body but it all starts in your mind. Messi's very creative, he has a lot of technique and talent, pure talent. Like in tennis, Roger Federer would be Messi and Novak Djokovic would be Cristiano Ronaldo."
Hagi talked about the duo's greatness as he continued, "This is one of the qualities to become one of the best of the world. One of the qualities of Ronaldo, of Messi, of players that achieve that level, is that they are motivated."
He also said that both the players make his life happy which is true for every football fan on the face of the earth.