This 21-Year-Old Is 'Better With Both Feet Than Messi And Ronaldo,' Claims Former Player

Former Romanian soccer player Marian Aliuta has said his 21-year-old fellow countryman, Ianis Hagi, is “better with both feet than Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo” were at the same age.

Hagi, son of Barcelona star Gheorghe, is currently on loan to Scottish club Rangers FC from Belgian side, Genk. Rangers boss Steven Gerrard has provided the youngster with both domestic and continental platform. Hagi in return has lived up to the expectations to a great extent and which is why it is understood that the club could soon be signing Hagi permanently from Genk.

While Rangers are reportedly preparing a deal of $6 million for Hagi, they are not the only club to be interested in the youngster as Hagi has also been linked to the Italian side, Lazio. Hagi, in fact, has spent two years of his career at Florentina between 2016 and 2018 in Italy but he had managed just two games for them.

Having done well in the Scottish Premier League and Europa League, Hagi is clearly following his father’s footsteps and Aliuta believes the youngster has the ability and talent to become one of the top players of the game as he is developing at a greater pace than Messi and Ronaldo managed to do in their careers.

“Neither Messi nor Ronaldo hit the ball so perfectly with both feet when they were Ianis' age. That's his big advantage. His technical skill with both feet is incredible. Although he's not the quickest, his positional sense is excellent too."

“He's a really smart player, but he must be allowed to grow and improve at his own rate without too much pressure being put on him,” Aliuta told DigiSport.

“Everyone will obviously compare him to Gheorghe because he has this famous name on his back. But that won't make him a success on its own. He knows he can't take the name for granted. The more matches he plays and the more experience he gets, the better he will be for it. There's no question he will grow enormously and have a great career,” Aliuta, who played only five matches for Romania national side, further added.