Iker Casillas: Cristiano Ronaldo's career is more impressive than Lionel Messi's
Iker Casillas has chimed in on the Cristiano Ronaldo-vs-Lionel Messi debate with a bold claim. He has stated that the former's career has been more impressive than that of Messi.
Cristiano Ronaldo spent nine years at Real Madrid from 2009 to 2018, six of which he spent playing alongside Casillas before the Spaniard left for Porto in 2015.
During his legendary stint at the Santiago Bernabeu, Cristiano Ronaldo became Real's all-time top goalscorer. He netted a staggering 450 goals in 438 appearances, surpassing the likes of Raul and Alfredo di Stefano.
Cristiano Ronaldo has enjoyed one of the most decorated careers ever witnessed, lifting 17 major honours at club level in 18 seasons as a senior player. His haul includes five Champions Leagues, four of which he won at Real.
Iker Casillas and Cristiano Ronaldo tasted success at Real Madrid
Iker Casillas shared some of that success with Cristiano Ronaldo during their memorable time together in Madrid. They lifted the La Liga once, two Copa del Rey titles and of course, the Champions League.
Speaking to ESPN, the 39-year-old waxed eloquent on Cristiano Ronaldo's elite mentality and labelled his achievements as "more impressive" than Lionel Messi's. He said:
“Cristiano always had a huge desire to be the best, ever since he was a boy and I believe he has achieved that. If I have to compare him to Messi, what Cristiano has done is more impressive because we all know the talent Messi has, but Cristiano was determined and worked hard to be the best. I feel we have been lucky to have been able to enjoy two phenomenal players. For people that don't know Cristiano, he can appear to be cocky and arrogant, but it's totally the opposite.”
There's no doubting that Messi is arguably the best footballer to ever grace a pitch; he has also enjoyed a trophy-littered career at Barcelona. Messi has won 20 major honours across 17 seasons in the Barcelona first team.
A strong argument in favour of his rival, however, is that Cristiano Ronaldo has won it all in England, conquered Spain and is now doing the same in Italy. Although Messi would most likely enjoy the same success, he is yet to take that big step away from the Nou Camp.
Of course, there's likely to be a slight bit of bias in Casillas' opinion. However, you can't really argue with the point he's making.