Lionel Messi Tops Cristiano Ronaldo Once Again In GOAT Talks

Lionel Messi was favored over Cristiano Ronaldo by a former club captain in another GOAT talk.

For over a decade now, only two names have been consistently competing for the greatest soccer player in history – Messi and Ronaldo. Since 2010, the pair has put up impressive numbers and broke multiple records. Their long-time rivalry is considered as one of the greatest things that happened to modern soccer. And collectively, Leo and CR7 are evidently two of the most influential sports personalities of their era. As a result, Messi and Ronaldo often fueled GOAT debates. In fact, some of their fellow soccer stars have also shared their thoughts on the epic rivalry.

Ex-Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany was one of the seasoned veterans who have witnessed how Ronaldo and Messi evolved from being sensational players to reputable leaders. And in a recent interview, Kompany broke down the differences he sees between Messi and Ronaldo, Daily Post reported.

According to the Belgian, he admires Ronaldo’s passion but nothing compares to the talent that Messi possesses.

"I love Ronaldo and I love all of the things he stands for, but I have to go for Messi," Kompany said.

"Just the speed of execution. it's talent and I think talent is difficult to overcome when it's that good,” Kompany added.

But Kompany admitted that he “loves Ronaldo” simply because he has witnessed how the Portuguese worked his way into becoming the player he is today. As per Kompany, Ronaldo has “progressed to being so driven and went on to apply a different way of playing.” However, the captain emphasized that the Argentine has something that cannot be learned and that’s what makes Messi “special.”

"The way he plays now at Juventus is different to the way he played when he was at United, different to how he played when he was at Real Madrid. I love that in a player, but Messi is special,” Kompany emphasized.

A few months ago, former Sweden captain Zlatan Ibrahimovic also weighed in on the Messi vs. Ronaldo GOAT debate. Same as Kompany, Ibrahimovic thinks that Ronaldo is an extremely hardworking player and deserves all the credit he has been receiving thus far. However, Messi is such a unique player.

"I admire Cristiano (Ronaldo), he works very hard and has played everywhere but in Italy it's different, I'm not surprised that he scores less than before,” Ibrahimovic said.

“About Leo, what to say? He has a unique talent and is in home. For me it will never change teams," Ibrahimovic emphasized.