Manchester Metropolis midfielder Rodri has weighed in on the limitless Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo debate, revealing an emphatic desire for the Argentine ahead.
Rodri was formally topped one of the best male participant on the earth at this 12 months’s Ballon d’Or ceremony, controversially pipping Actual Madrid’s Vinicius Junior to the title. The Spanish European champion completed prime of a nominees record which did not embrace Messi or Ronaldo for the primary time in 21 years.
The pair have received 13 Ballon d’Or crowns between them and are extensively thought-about to be two of the biggest gamers of all time. The Messi-Ronaldo debate has raged on for greater than a decade, however Rodri has made up his thoughts.
“I’ve little question about it, Messi,” Rodri revealed on Antenna 3‘s present El Hormiguero. “I all the time say that Cristiano has managed to match Messi in lots of issues, maybe with out the innate expertise that Leo has, however these of us who actually play towards them shortly realise the distinction.”
Rodri first got here up towards the legendary duo when he was a teen at Villarreal. Messi scored inside ten minutes of his maiden assembly with the Spanish midfielder, firing within the first of seven objectives in eight confrontations. Ronaldo racked up a memorable hat-trick for Juventus towards an Atletico Madrid aspect containing Rodri within the 2018/19 Champions League knockout levels.
“Cristiano, for instance, what you did not need him to do was step into the field, as a result of when he did step into the field he was deadly,” Rodri defined. “However Messi was deadly on all sides of the pitch. The ball got here to him and also you knew one thing dangerous was going to occur, you did not know what, however you probably did know that one thing dangerous was going to occur.
“So I keep in mind once I began enjoying towards him, once I was 17 or 18, going to take the ball from him and he would transfer like a bullfighter side-stepping a heifer.”
Rodri despatched a heartfelt message to his Spanish compatriot Dani Carvajal whereas accepting his award. The Euro 2024 Participant of the Match additionally lauded the long run potential of Lamine Yamal and the previous affect of Andres Iniesta after changing into the primary Spanish man to win the Ballon d’Or since Luis Suarez in 1960. The final 4 Ballons d’Or Feminin have gone to Alexia Putellas and Aitana Bonmati.
“For my part, Spain has had one of the best technology or has had among the finest moments within the historical past of soccer, not solely with the nationwide staff, but in addition with the Spanish league, and that we solely had one Ballon d’Or, the reality is that it was a curious factor,” Rodri famous.
“And effectively, that golden technology that we had was not capable of win it, made me wish to pay tribute to it as a result of truthfully there are lots of of them that I feel are higher gamers than me and that shouldn’t have it at house, however they’ve lived within the period of two ‘martians’ like Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.”
