The rivalry between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo has returned to the spotlight after a new revelation from Thierry Marchand, former head of the foreign football department of French magazine France Football.
The latest revelations about Ronaldo were published by Marchand in the French publication titled “Cristiano” including a series of his one-on-one interviews with the Portuguese legend.
In one of these interviews, the Manchester United superstar had offensive words against Lionel Messi because he stayed in the safe zone at Barca for too long, before the Argentine legend decided to move to PSG in last summer.
The excerpt provided by L’Equipe, is as follows: “It’s easy to continue to succeed when Messi is constantly in his comfort zone” – He (Ronaldo) suddenly told me so – “ Messi did not dare to leave his comfort zone the way I did. Look, I dared to go to Turin, dared to change clubs, win the championship…” According to Marchand, the Portuguese superstar also has regrets. I regret deciding to leave Real.
Messi has won 7 Golden Balls, Ronaldo has won 5 times. Photo: GETTY.
The interview in question took place on October 22, 2019. Cristiano Ronaldo even said that he would give up football if Lionel Messi won the Golden Ball that year. The excerpt continues: “I feel like Ronaldo is starting to share a lot more anger. But I’m still surprised when he (Ronaldo) gave me this merciless statement, frankly expressing his incredible anger. His terrible statement: ”If Messi wins the Golden Ball this year, I will quit football!”.
Interestingly, Messi won the Golden Ball award that year, becoming the first player to win it 6 times at the time. Yet Ronaldo continues his career, seemingly without his actions living up to his words.
After a slow start at PSG last season, Messi has returned to the top this season and is certainly one of the top players in Europe at the moment. To date, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner has made 18 appearances for the Parisian side in all competitions, scoring 12 goals and 14 assists.
The Argentine striker is playing very well this season for PSG…
… while striker Ronaldo is not very happy at Man United. Photo: GETTY.
It has been 18 years since Messi first appeared on the world stage for Argentina. At only 19 years old, he became an important player of the team. But what Messi has done for Argentina cannot compare to his monumental career at the club level. That’s why South American football expert Simon Edwards believes that “all fans are happy if Messi wins the World Cup, if their team can do it”.
“Messi will be able to end his team career perfectly if he wins the World Cup” – Edwards added – “That moment will be unforgettable in the minds of every football fan.”
Ronaldo, meanwhile, has been a far cry from his usual form since the campaign began, scoring just three goals and two assists for Manchester United in 16 games across all competitions.
