Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and more: Man City legend Vincent Kompany names his dream seven-a-side team
Former Manchester City defender and current Burnley manager, Vincent Kompany named his dream seven-a-side team during a recent interview with Sky Sports. He included both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in the side.
The Belgian center-back played for Manchester City from 2008 to 2019, winning several trophies for the Blues, including four Premier Leagues, two English FA Cups, four English League Cups, and two English Super Cups. The 38-year-old's Burnley were recently relegated from the Premier League following a 2-1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur.
For his seven-a-side team, Kompany chose a star-studded attack that included Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Carlos Tevez. The midfield consisted of his former Manchester City teammate Kevin De Bryune.
The Burnley boss selected Liverpool defender Virgil Van Dijk and himself to pair up for the defensive line-up.
"His [Van Dijk] understanding of the game, and obviously he’s able to back it up with the execution as well. But his understanding of the game, his leadership, his all-round profile as a defender — I really think that it’s very rare, to have very few weaknesses," said Kompany about the Liverpool CB.
Finally, Real Madrid's goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois completed Vincent Kompany's dream seven-a-side team.
Who does Vincent Kompany prefer between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo?
The Lionel Messi-Cristiano Ronaldo debate has been going on for ages. Several players and managers have had their say on the topic, and fans are still battling to prove why their favorite is the better of the two.
In 2020, Vincent Kompany picked the harder player to play against among the two. When asked by William Hil about the Messi vs Ronaldo debate, the Belgian defender said:
"I love Ronaldo and I love all of the things he stands for but I have to go for Messi. Just the speed of execution… it’s talent and I think talent is difficult to overcome when it’s that good," said Kompany about Lionel Messi (via Express).
However, the former Manchester City player was quick to praise Cristiano Ronaldo's hard work and achievements too.
"But I love Ronaldo because I’ve seen his progression. I’ve seen him being a player that he was at United and progressed to being so driven and then going to a different way of playing. The way he plays now at Juventus is different to the way he played when he was at United, different to how he played when he was at Real Madrid. I love that in a player but Messi is special," Kompany concluded.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have maintained their dominance in world football for over 18 years now. The duo has a total of 1405 goals and 504 assists in 1802 club appearances in Europe (via MessiVsRonaldo.app). In all, they have won a total of 13 Ballon d'Ors, 10 European Golden Shoes, and 9 UEFA Champions League titles between them.