“He does not show it but always watching you” - Jan Oblak’s old comments on Lionel Messi resurface ahead of clash with Cristiano Ronaldo at Euro 2024
Slovenian goalkeeper Jan Oblak's comments about Lionel Messi resurfaced as Slovenia gear up to face Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal in the Euro 2024 Round of 16 in Frankfurt on Monday (July 1).
Oblak was all praise for the Argentine legend after he broke Pele's record of scoring the most goals for one club in 2020. Speaking to Sky Sports, he called Messi the "best player in the world" and appreciating his ability to keep his eyes out everywhere on the pitch during a game.
"He watches my legs. If I make one step, he will see it and shoot to the other side. This is why he is the best. This is why he is so difficult. He does not show it but he is always looking. He is always watching you. His eyes are on the ball but he sees you." Oblak said.
The Atletico Madrid goalkeeper described how Lionel Messi is unpredictable on the pitch, and one can never understand when he'd score. The goalkeeper spoke from his own experience, having played against Messi multiple times in La Liga between 2014 to 2020 while the Argentine was at Barcelona.
"It is strange. Sometimes you think you are controlling them, you are controlling him. But in a second, he changes the game, he scores a goal, and Barcelona win.
"Sometimes you do not see him. Maybe you are thinking it is not dangerous. And then he scores. This happened to us (Atletico Madrid) last season. You need to be 100 per cent concentrated. He is still the best player in the world," he added.
Oblak also mentioned that sometimes it's difficult to understand how Lionel Messi scores to effortlessly, admitting that La Pulga has found the net multiple times against him. However, that didn't stop him from admiring Messi and calling him a "great, amazing and the best player."
Oblak has also faced Cristiano Ronaldo multiple times in La Liga when the Portuguese played for Real Madrid between 2009 to 2018.
When German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer chose Lionel Messi over Cristiano Ronaldo
In an interview with ESPN FC in 2022, German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer chose Lionel Messi over Cristiano Ronaldo during a game of 'You Have to Answer." The Bayern Munich star was given two choices in each round and had to pick one.
When it came to the age-old question between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, Neuer didn't hesitate to pick the latter.
Question: "Lionel Messi or Ronaldo?"
Neuer: "Messi."
Although Neuer preferred Messi ahead of his longtime rival Cristiano Ronaldo, an interesting statistics per SportsBigNews suggests that the Portuguese has recorded the most goals against Neuer.
Cristiano Ronaldo faced Neuer nine times and scored 10 goals past him. Marco Reus and Robert Lewandowski are second and third on the list, with nine goals in 30 games and seven goals in 15 games respectively. Meanwhile, Messi has two goals scored past Neuer in six games.