Francesco Totti names what he wants from Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Diego Maradona and others as he builds the perfect footballer
Legendary Italian striker Francesco Totti picked the attributes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Diego Maradona to build his perfect player in a recent interview. The Roma icon was part of the last Azzurri team to lift the World Cup in 2006 and retired in 2017 after spending his whole career in the Italian capital.
In a recent interview with Bettson Sport, the 58-time Italian international took attributes from himself and other stars to build his ultimate player. Totti took the skills of many stars across the game and said (via GOAL):
“You have to have Cristiano Ronaldo's right foot, Diego Maradona's left foot, Luca Toni's heading, Ronaldo the Phenomenon's speed, Lionel Messi's dribbling, Jude Bellingham's physique and my vision of the game.”
What Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi said about their iconic rivalry
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are widely believed to be two of the best players in the history of the sport for their exploits in the game. The duo enjoyed an iconic rivalry that saw them dominate the football landscape for over a decade and win 13 Ballon d'Or awards between them.
Back in 2018 after Ronaldo left Real Madrid to join Juventus, Lionel Messi said (via Mirror):
"It was nice to play against Cristiano, he made Madrid a stronger side. I said at the beginning of the season that Madrid would miss him, as any team would. It made a lot of Madrid fans a bit angry but that is the reality. Any team would miss him. He scores 50 goals a season and he was the key player for them, of course, they were going to miss that."
Cristiano Ronaldo responded to the comments in 2020, telling RMC:
"I really admire the career he [Messi] has had so far. He has already said that he had trouble when I left the Spanish league because it is a rivalry that he appreciates. It is a good rivalry that exists in football but this is no exception."
"Michael Jordan had rivals in basketball, Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost were great rivals in Formula One. The only common point between all the big rivalries in the sport is that they are healthy."
The legendary duo are now in the twilight of their careers, with Ronaldo 39 and Messi 37. They play for AL-Nassr in the Saudi Pro-League and Inter Miami in the MLS, respectively.