Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo? Chelsea star Noni Madueke names his favourite
Chelsea star Noni Madueke chose between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in a recent interview with BBC Sport. Madueke joined the Blues from PSV Eindhoven in January 2023 and has been impressive during his time at the club.
The Englishman scored eight goals and provided three assists in his first season at Stamford Bridge and has already bagged a hat trick against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the current campaign.
In the interview with BBC Sport (via @5liveSport), Madueke revealed that he prefers Ronaldo over Messi. The conversation with the interviewer went like this:
Interviewer: First favorite player you ever had?
Noni Madueke: Cristiano Ronaldo.
Interviewer: Better than Messi?
Noni Madueke: Yeah, for me.
Later in the interview, Madueke revealed that Ronaldo's Manchester United T-shirt from 2006/07 was the first-ever football jersey he owned as a child.
Ronaldo and Messi are widely considered two of the greatest footballers of the generation and have dominated the footballing world over the last two decades. The pair have racked up over 1,700 goals (combined), winning nine Champions Leagues between them and maintaining a 13-year duopoly over the prestigious Ballon d'Or.
At present, both players play their football outside Europe. While Cristiano Ronaldo is breaking records with Al-Nassr in the Middle East, Lionel Messi is filling stadiums in the United States with Inter Miami.
Both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi not nominated for Ballon d'Or for first time since 2003
France Football released the complete list of Ballon d'Or 2024 nominees on September 4, which included the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr., Lamine Yamal, and Jude Bellingham among others. However, two of the biggest exclusions from the list were Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Both failed to make the list of Ballon d'Or nominees for the first time since 2003, presumably because neither currently play football in Europe. However, Lionel Messi led Inter Miami to victory in the Leagues Cup in 2023 - their first-ever trophy in senior football. The 37-year-old also helped Argentina win Copa America 2024 - their third consecutive major international trophy.
Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo was the highest goalscorer for Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League last season, bagging 35 goals in 31 games for the Knights of Najd.
Their notable exclusion from the Ballon d'Or top 30 is symbolic of the dawn of a new era in European football, ending a two-decade-long duopoly that saw Messi and Ronaldo dominate world football like never before.