Rodri aims subtle dig at Cristiano Ronaldo as he wades in on Lionel Messi debate

Manchester City star Rodri has weighed in on the GOAT debate between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, suggesting the latter gave his rival the edge because he was “dangerous everywhere on the pitch”.

Ronaldo versus Messi has been a hot topic of debate among football fans and pundits for over a decade, with both players staking their claim to being the greatest footballer of all time after an astonishing career that saw them compete against each other for the Balloon. d'Or Prize.

Ex-Real Madrid and Manchester United star Ronaldo has scored a total of 928 goals for club and country in his career and has won 34 trophies, including five Champions League titles, winning the Ballon d'Or five times along the way.

Messi has now scored 877 goals and 41 trophies, with four Champions League and eight Ballon d'Ors to his name.

But Rodri has claimed Messi is “without a doubt” the greatest and has outlined the key difference between the two players after coming across them both in his career.

Speaking to El Hormiguero, he said via Goal: “Lionel Messi is without a doubt the greatest player of all time. Cristiano has managed to match Messi without any innate talent. But those of us who have played against them can see the difference.

“We didn't want Cristiano to step into the penalty area because he was deadly there. But with Messi the danger was everywhere on the pitch.”

The 28-year-old was named the latest Ballon d'Or winner at the prestigious ceremony after a stellar spell that saw him win the Champions League with City in 2023 and the Euro 2024 with Spain the following year – after Messi won three. last four prizes.

Rodri added that he felt Messi had the advantage over Ronaldo during his career because of his ability to “dodge you like you're a bull in the ring” when you tried to tackle him.

“When Messi got the ball you would think: 'Oh, danger,'” he added. “When I first started playing against him, I tried to take the ball from him, and he dodged you like you were a bull in the ring. The feeling I had was that something bad was about to happen.”

Rodri took the time to speak as he continues his long recovery from an ACL injury that will rule him out for the rest of the 2024/25 season.