Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima, famously known as Ronaldo, picked Lionel Messi as the best player in the world while picking his top 5 current players. A two-time Ballon d’Or winner, he was at the top of the world at one time and knows a thing or two about being the best. Shockingly, Ronaldo left out Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo from his top 5.
Brazilian striker Ronaldo won two World Cups, a trophy Messi or C. Ronaldo is yet to lift even once. He has always said that Argentine wizard Messi is one of the best to grace the game ever, and re-iterated the same in an interview with AS earlier this week.
“Messi, of course, he is number one, he is a talent that means it will take 20 or 30 years to see something similar,” said Ronaldo while picking his top 5. Players were included from Liverpool, Real Madrid, and Paris Saint-Germain.
“I also like Mohamed Salah, Eden Hazard… Neymar, I love watching him play, and of course, Kylian Mbappe.”
PSG forward Kylian Mbappe has been referred to as the next Ronaldo by one and many. The French World Cup winner won the Ligue 1 Golden Boot and the 42-year-old knows exactly why he’s compared to the former Real Madrid striker.
“Many people say that he [Mbappe] looks like me. He has a lot of speed, he finishes well, he has great movement, he shoots really well with both feet, he has an incredible stride,” said Ronaldo.
“We have similar attributes, but I never liked the comparisons, especially between players of different generations, because the situations are different.”
While discussing players, Ronaldo also discussed leagues, hinting La Liga to be the best in the world.
“It is not clear that the Premier League is better than our league. Perhaps in television income, the clubs receive more, but the best players are in Spain, or at least, most of them,” said the Brazilian, who owns a majority stake in La Liga club Real Valladolid.
The Brazilian, who scored 352 goals in 518 club appearances in Spain, Italy, Netherlands, and Brazil, sees Liverpool star Salah as the next best behind the Argentine great. The ‘Egyptian King’ is just nine goals away from registering his 100-goal mark for the Reds and played an instrumental role in guiding them to the Champions League trophy last season.
Messi’s Barcelona is two-point clear of Real Madrid at the top of the La Liga table, while PSG has already won the league title this season. Liverpool needs just two more wins to seal The Reds’ first league title in 30-long years.
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