The names Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are considered to the best players that the game has ever produced. There have been numerous debates on who is the better among the two. Alex Ferguson, who mentored Cristiano and shaped his career at Manchester United have always been too explicit in letting the world know why Real Madrid’s Cristiano has an edge over Barcelona legend Messi .
Recently speaking at an event at the Convention Centre in Dublin, Fergusson engaged in a critical analysis on the career of the two footballing legends of this decade. Fergusson as always accentuated his belief that Cristiano Ronaldo has an upper hand over Messi as the Real Madrid goal machine can adapt to different situations and can become a big name in any club he plays for.
The fierce competition between the two legends has made La Liga more exciting. Ronaldo joined Real Madrid in 2009 and since then it has always been Messi or Cristiano topping the charts for the maximum number of goals scored in the league.
However the streak was broken this season by Messi’s good friend and teammate Luis Suarez, who scored 40 amazing goals to clinch the golden boot this season.
Cristiano’s pace and ball control abilities convinced Ferguson to bring him to Old Trafford from Sporting Lisbon in 2003. Cristiano took little time to adapt to the club’s style and soon became the most decorated player the club have ever produced before joining the Spanish league in 2009 on a record breaking £80 million move to Madrid. Messi began his professional career at Barcelona and gradually evolved to be a legend ans as sources suggest, Leo Messi would look forward to end his career with the Catalans.
Speaking at the event in Dublin Ferguson said, “When the ball is at Messi’s feet it is like he is wearing slippers. But there is a difference between Messi and Ronaldo and I’ll tell you what it is.”
“I think Messi is a Barcelona player but Ronaldo could be playing for Stockport County and he would score a hat-trick. He is brilliant in the air and he has two feet, he’s as brave as a lion, and here’s something else people overlook. During my time at Manchester United I was lucky enough to have a lot of people who put in countless extra hours to get better.”
“Gary Neville turned himself from an average footballer into a wonderful one because of his work ethic, as did David Beckham, but Ronaldo used to completely exhaust himself, and still does. He just wanted to be the best in the world,” Ferguson also added.