The comparison between Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo and Argentina talisman Lionel Messi is nothing new. However, the recent revelation by former England striker Peter crouch has further fuelled the debate.
Crouch, who regularly spoke with United players whilst on international duty, said that when Ronaldo was at Old Trafford, players of the club used to mock the Portuguese by telling that he wasn’t as good as Lionel Messi. Meanwhile, unfazed by the opinions of his teammates, Ronaldo used to offer a typically confident response.
“I spoke to some of the United players and said what’s Ronaldo like, and they said they used to wind him up by saying Messi was better than him and he said: ‘Yeah, but Messi doesn’t look like this’,” Crouch told at an event in London as quoted by Daily Mail.
Ronaldo, who is regarded as one of the greatest players, scored his 99th international goal on Sunday as Portugal inched Luxembourg 2-0 in a hard-fought away game to qualify for Euro 2020.
Notably, the Juventus forward is only 10 behind Iran legend Ali Daei’s tally of 109 international goals. The international fixtures this year have been terrific for the talisman as he has scored 14 goals for the national side so far.
However, the 34-year-old has to wait until the next international break in March for the chance to become just the second male player to reach 100 international goals.
Notably, Ronaldo struck his ninth international hat-trick – and the seventh since he turned 30 – on Thursday against Lithuania to set up the opportunity to hit a century on Sunday.