“Simply more subtle and elegant” - Bayern Munich superstar Thomas Muller settles GOAT debate between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo
Thomas Muller has heaped praise on Lionel Messi and named him the GOAT ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo.
The German footballer claims that the Argentine makes the fans go to the stadium to watch his elegance on the pitch, something better than his Portuguese counterpart.
Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo has been an ongoing debate for nearly two decades. The two footballers have pushed each other beyond their limits, and that has kept the fans entertained on the pitch every season.
Speaking to DAZN, Muller put his weight behind Messi in the GOAT debate over Ronaldo.
He backed his pick by saying that the Argentine makes people want to go to the stadium to watch him play live and saying:
"Who is the greatest of all time? The GOAT for me is Messi because he makes people say 'I go to the stadium because of his elegance' and at the same time he is very effective in scoring goals and achieving records and titles. Cristiano is also a strong candidate in two categories which are stats and titles, but Messi is simply more subtle and elegant."
Thomas Muller mocked Lionel Messi and praised Cristiano Ronaldo earlier this year
When Bayern Munich knocked out PSG in the UEFA Champions League earlier in 2023, Thomas Muller wasted no time mocking Lionel Messi.
He proclaimed that they always do well against the Argentine, while Cristiano Ronaldo is always a problem on the pitch.
He said:
"Against Messi, things always go well at all levels in terms of results. At club level, Cristiano Ronaldo was our problem when he was at Real Madrid. Naturally I know my statistics in matches against Messi."
He added:
"Before a match like tomorrow's, they always talk about these things. There is the 2-8 against Barcelona, but I think that more important than that was the 7-0 overall in our favour in the 2013 semi-final."
Muller has come up against Messi 10 times for club and country and won seven of those matches. None of them have ended in draws, while the biggest win came in the 2014 FIFA World Cup final.
Meanwhile, Muller has faced Ronaldo five times and ended up on the winning side five times. He has lost four of those matches, but the two have never met in the final of any competition.