Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and more: Inter star Hakan Calhanoglu builds his ultimate footballer
Inter Milan midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu has picked key skills of players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to build his ultimate footballer. The Turkish international joined Inter Milan from AC Milan in 2021 and has won one Serie A title, three Italian Super Cups, and two Italian Cups with I Nerazzurri so far.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are widely considered two of the greatest footballers to have ever played the game. The two have dominated footballing discourses for over two decades and continue to dazzle millions even in the twilight of their careers.
During their primes, Messi and Ronaldo established an unparalleled duopoly over the Ballon d'Or - football's most coveted individual award. At present, Lionel Messi has eight Ballons d'Or while Cristiano Ronaldo has five.
In a video shared by GOAL on Instagram, Hakan Calhanoglu picked Lionel Messi's left foot and Cristiano Ronaldo's right foot to build his ultimate footballer. He chose Manchester City's Kyle Walker for his speed and the hypothetical player got his strength from Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk.
Brazilian maestro Juninho Pernambucano was picked for his expertise in converting free-kicks. Finally, Calhanoglu chose Neymar and Ronaldo Nazario for their skills and football IQ, respectively.
Calhanoglu has been in impressive form this season, scoring four goals in 12 games as a defensive midfielder for Simone Inzaghi's side.
British journalist Piers Morgan once made a big revelation on what Cristiano Ronaldo told him about Lionel Messi
British journalist Piers Morgan once made an interesting revelation about what Cristiano Ronaldo told him about Messi while the two were having dinner. The Messi vs. Ronaldo debate has dominated the footballing world for the greater part of the last fifteen years.
Their rivalry began in earnest when the Portuguese superstar joined Real Madrid from Manchester United in 2009. From then on, El Clasicos became a global spectacle for the entire world to witness. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo dominated LaLiga like no two players in the history of the league. Ronaldo and Messi left LaLiga with 311 and 474 goals, respectively.
In a recent interview on talkSPORT, Piers Morgan talked about Ronaldo's comments on his rivalry with Lionel Messi.
"I had a very interesting conversation with Cristiano, we had dinner after I first interviewed him three years ago, it was a really great conversation and I really like him as a person," he said.
Morgan stated that the Al-Nassr superstar was respectful of the Argentine genius, saying:
"He was incredibly respectful about Messi and I said to him, 'Who's the best player you've ever seen?"
"He said, 'Messi, but you're asking the wrong question, you're not asking me who is the best player…', because, of course, he has never seen himself play live. So, that made me laugh," he concluded.
After tormenting defenders in Europe for several years, Messi and Ronaldo are currently playing football for MLS outfit Inter Miami and Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr, respectively.