Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo compared in shocking Gonzalo Higuain interview
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are, without question, the best players in the world of football. There are very few Barcelona and Real Madrid players who can claim to have played with both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi at any given point in their careers.
Most of these fortunate individuals turn out to be either Portuguese or Argentine. Gonzalo Higuain is one of the most illustrious of these players and shared the pitch with club-mate Cristiano Ronaldo and compatriot Lionel Messi for nearly a decade.
Gonzalo Higuain made explosive claims about Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi
When the two modern-day legends are compared, most players tend to be diplomatic and emphasise that both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are incredible players in their own unique ways.
Gonzalo Higuain, however, threw caution to the wind in an explosive interview with Spanish newspaper Sport in 2016 and claimed that Cristiano Ronaldo was too arrogant to be as good as Lionel Messi.
Higuain, who was at Napoli at the time, did not hold back and criticised Cristiano Ronaldo for being far too egoistic for his own good.
"Cristiano Ronaldo has a lot of ego. If you don't say that he is the best, he is not your friend. He thinks that he is the best but he is overrated."
Higuain also made a clear distinction between Cristiano Ronaldo and his arch-rival Lionel Messi and said that the Argentine captain was a completely different character in the dressing room.
"I have shared a dressing room with Lionel Messi and one is nothing like the other."
Gonzalo Higuain has played with both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi and his unprecedented statements shocked the football world in 2016.
The Argentine striker joined Real Madrid as a teenager in 2016 and played alongside Cristiano Ronaldo for several years in Spain. They were crucial to Real Madrid's La Liga title victory in 2012 and have combined on several occasions to solve problems for the Spanish giants.
Higuain has also played with Lionel Messi for several years. The enigmatic forwards lined up alongside each in three different World Cups. Unfortunately for both Lionel Messi and Gonzalo Higuain, all three campaigns ended in bitter disappointment with the latter becoming a scapegoat on more than one occasion.
Gonzalo Higuain has officially been a Juventus player since 2016 but has played for several clubs across Europe on loan.
His admiration for Lionel Messi aside, Gonzalo Higuain presumably has different opinions about Cristiano Ronaldo today. The Argentine striker lines up alongside Cristiano Ronaldo for Juventus and if his illustrious teammate is truly as egoistic as Higuain claimed he is, the striker's comments will not have gone down well with the Portuguese superstar.
Given his quiet demeanour, Lionel Messi always avoids any comparison between him and Cristiano Ronaldo. The two legends have also acknowledged each other as their primary sources of motivation and continue to push each other to greater heights.
While Gonzalo Higuain may think otherwise, both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo remain in the highest possible echelons of football history.
Also check out: Messi vs Ronaldo complete stats