“I’ve never really answered this question” - When Gary Neville made emphatic GOAT claim about Cristiano Ronaldo due to one big factor
Manchester United veteran Gary Neville chose Cristiano Ronaldo as the greatest player to have ever played the game. He did so in the ever-lasting Lionel Messi vs. Ronaldo debate with Jamie Carragher in the Sky Sports Football podcast in September 2021.
The English defender was asked to name a player who he would call if he were a manager and his team needed a player to win the game in the last 10 minutes. Gary Neville said he would go for Cristiano Ronaldo, saying (via Instagram/@king.jafar00):
"It would be Cristiano Ronaldo. It would be absolutely Cristiano Ronaldo. And I have looked at his goal breakdown and thought of...he can score with his left foot, he can score with his right foot, he can score from distance.
"He is probably the best poacher now in world football. He can score with penalties, and if you stick it in the box and hang it up there, he will go and score with a header. And he might even score with a freekick."
The Manchester United veteran continued:
"I have never really answered this question...I do think that he would be the player in the history of football I've watched that I'd bring off the bench if I thought I had to have someone win a football match for me."
Cristiano Ronaldo has been one of the greatest players in the history of Manchester United. He has scored a whopping 145 goals and 64 assists in 346 games across two stints for the club. He was first brought to Manchester United from his boyhood club Sporting CP by Sir Alex Ferguson in 2003. He went on to become one of the feared attackers in the Premier League and won the first of his five Ballons d'Or in 2008 while playing at Old Trafford.
Thereafter, Real Madrid bought him in 2009 and he established one of the greatest rivalries in football history with Barcelona's Lionel Messi. At the Santiago Bernabeu, Cristiano Ronaldo scored 450 goals and 131 assists in 438 matches at an astonishing rate of above a goal per game.
Gary Neville labeled Cristiano Ronaldo 'illegal' after knowing about an unbelievable statistic
Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal registered a convincing 3-0 win against Turkiye in the Euro 2024. Bernardo Silva and Bruno Fernandes got their names on the scoreboard.
Although the Portugal captain didn't score any goals, Gary Neville learnt that he had scored 895 goals in her career for club and country by that time. He shared his astonishment at the number.
"I can't believe it... 895 goals. I mean, that is, it's not right, that. I mean, I knew he'd scored a few goals, but, honestly. His professionalism, he's never taken a chance once at any point in his career with his preparation," exclaimed Gary Neville (via Mirror).
Neville concluded by calling Ronaldo 'one of the greatest we'll ever see', adding:
"He's a phenomenon and one of the greatest we'll ever see. His dedication, his determination to win is unbelievable, and 895 goals is bordering on illegal!"
Ronaldo had an underwhelming Euro 2024 campaign, ending without a goal as Portugal were eliminated in the quarter-finals against France. However, he became the joint-leading assist provider in the history of the European Championships with eight to his name.