“He has the gift of God, but he is a monster” – Al-Nassr star Anderson Talisca chooses between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi
Al-Nassr attacker Anderson Talisca decided to opt for teammate Cristiano Ronaldo over his long-term rival Lionel Messi. Talisca and Ronaldo have been teammates at the Riyadh-based club ever since the Portugal superstar joined them on a free transfer in December 2022.
Talisca gives his reasons why he opted to go for Ronaldo over Lionel Messi. According to the Brazil forward, he admires his work ethic and his dedication towards the game. He believes that Ronaldo made the most of his talent through sheer hard work.
Speaking on the Out of the Game podcast (via Ronaldo.com), Anderson Talisca was quoted as saying the following:
"I am more Cristiano Ronaldo than Messi. Where he got to and where he is… Of course, he has the gift of God, but he is a monster. He works hard and is very dedicated. He worked for that what it is today.”
Anderson Talisca and Cristiano Ronaldo have been two of Al-Nassr's best players during the recently-concluded 2022-23 season. The pair have shared the pitch on 13 occasions for the club but only had one joint goal contribution.
Talisca ended the season as Al-Nassr's highest goalscorer with Ronaldo not far behind. The former Benfica attacker scored 21 goals across all competitions for his side while Ronaldo scored 14 goals in his debut season in Saudi Arabia. The former Real Madrid superstar, however, scored his goals in only half of the season.
It is worth mentioning that Anderson Talisca also shared the pitch with Lionel Messi during the 2022-23 season. Messi was part of the Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) squad which played a friendly game against Riyadh All-Stars XI, a team comprising of players from Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal.
The game ended in a 5-4 victory for PSG with Lionel Messi opening the scoring for the visitors. Ronaldo netted a brace on that occasion with Talisca netting an injury-time consolation goal for Riyadh All-Stars XI.
The 2023-24 season will be the first time both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are not playing in Europe
The 2023-24 season will be the first time both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi will not be seen playing in any of the European leagues. This comes after Messi decided to join MLS side Inter Miami.
Ronaldo and Messi have been synonymous with playing for some of Europe's elite clubs, including PSG, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus. The pair, however, have both shifted from Europe and will be playing in the USA and Saudi Arabia, respectively.
Cristiano Ronaldo left Europe in the second half of the 2022-23 season, moving to Al-Nassr and now Messi will be following suit by moving to the MLS.