"It's harder to defend against him" - When Manuel Akanji picked tougher opponent between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo
Manchester City defender Manuel Akanji had the answer to one of the most popular questions among fans: who's more difficult to defend between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Speaking during a Q&A segment during his time at Borussia Dortmund in December 2019, the centre-back highlighted Messi as the tougher player to go head-to-head with on the pitch.
The Switzerland international reckoned both players are devastating but gave the nod to Lionel Messi because he does more with the ball than Ronaldo. The Q&A went as follows (as seen on Borussia Dortmund's official YouTube channel):
Interviewer: "The best striker I’ve played against is…
Akanji: "Lionel Messi, if you can call him a striker.
Interviewer: "Yes, he’s a hybrid.
Akanji: "The best player I’ve played against is Lionel Messi.
Interviewer: "Have you ever played against Ronaldo?
Akanji: "Yes, he scored a hat-trick! But I have to say, I think it’s harder to defend against Messi because he does more with the ball.
"Ronaldo is incredible at scoring goals, and he’s difficult to stop in the box, but I find that Messi is everywhere on the pitch. He’s hard to stop.
Interviewer: "Very well. I’ll give you that one, but I would also have said Messi. I also played against both, and it's harder to defend against Messi."
It's fair to say that Akanji was spot on in his analysis. Over the last decade, Cristiano Ronaldo transformed his game from a tricky winger at Manchester United to a goalscoring machine.
Messi, though, has devoted himself to playmaking duties but still scores tons of goals. Even when he doesn't score, the Argentine doesn't fail to torment opposition defenses with his brilliant passes, near-perfect vision and electrifying dribbles.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo still going strong
Despite being in the twilight of their careers, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are enjoying a golden swansong to remind the world of their incredible brilliance.
The Argentine was on the winning end once again, as he guided his country to yet another Copa America trophy this summer. Unfortunately, he has not been in action since then due to an ankle injury picked up in the tournament final in July.
Cristiano Ronaldo, meanwhile, endured a tough spell at Euro 2024 - failing to score in five games - as Portugal lost in the quarter-final to France. However, the attacker has bounced back in style and has scored in all four appearances for Al-Nassr this season.