Tennis star superstar Carlos Alcaraz snubs Lionel Messi as he names Cristiano Ronaldo and ex-Barcelona star in dream 5-a-side team
Tennis prodigy Carlos Alcaraz has reportedly snubbed Lionel Messi and chosen Cristiano Ronaldo in his dream five-a-side team. The 21-year-old is No. 3 in the ATP world rankings, behind Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev.
The Messi vs. Ronaldo debate has dominated football discourses for over two decades. With over 1700 goals combined and countless personal and collective accolades, the two maintained a duopoly over world football like never before.
After winning 13 Ballons d'Or between them (eight for Messi and five for Ronaldo), Messi and Ronaldo are currently plying their trade in the United States and Saudi Arabia, respectively.
According to a report by TeamCRonaldo on X, Carlos Alcaraz selected Cristiano Ronaldo over Lionel Messi while choosing his dream five-a-side team in football. The Spaniard is a well-known Madridista, and four of his five picks were Real Madrid legends, but he kept one Barcelona player in his team.
In between the sticks, Alcaraz went with Iker Casillas with Sergio Ramos manning the backline. In midfield, the Spaniard chose Zinedine Zidane and Barcelona legend Andres Iniesta. Cristiano Ronaldo was the marksman up front in the dream team.
When Serena Williams' former coach compared Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, respectively
Serena Williams' ex-coach Patrick Mouratoglou once compared Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi with tennis titans Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, respectively.
According to the French tennis tactician, Ronaldo's penchant for working hard and an incessant urge to become the best is reminiscent of Djokovic, the Serbian tennis great. Meanwhile, Lionel Messi, like Roger Federer, is a work of pure talent.
In an Instagram post on October 4, Mouratoglou wrote:
“I was talking to a friend of mine yesterday, and we were saying that Federer is Messi, and Djokovic is Ronaldo."
He explained:
“Why? Because Federer is pure crazy talent and he just needs to feel what he’s doing. While Djokovic is the super hard worker that pays attention to every single detail."
Cristiano Ronaldo is widely regarded as a physical specimen who has honed himself over the years through hard work. The Portuguese superstar's relentless pursuit of greatness has made him the highest goalscorer in the history of professional football with a staggering 908 goals in 1250 appearances across club and country.
Lionel Messi, meanwhile, has always been considered a pinnacle of natural ability with his unparalleled dribbling skills, and footballing intelligence. The Argentine maestro's record-breaking repertoire of personal and collective accolades has made him one of the all-time greats of the game alongside Ronaldo, having scored 850 goals.