While saying he is a huge fan of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gary Lineker insists that the long-running debate over who is the better footballer between him and Lionel Messi is ‘not even close’
Gary Lineker says Cristiano Ronaldo hasn’t spoken to him since he dared say his arch rival Lionel Messi is a better player.
The Portugal legend got the hump after hearing that superstar Messi is his Greatest Of All Time, unfollowing the broadcaster and ignoring him ever since. Gary says his pick wasn’t in any way meant as a dig at the 41-year-old Real Madrid and Manchester United icon.
But it appears he took it that way and has shunned him since that moment, according to the former Match of the Day host. Gary was chatting on the inaugural episode of Season 8 of The Louis Theroux Podcast. They spoke about the much-discussed GOAT debate, his departure from the BBC last year and how his ‘marriage’ to the corporation had started to ‘run out of love’.
Ronaldo may not have had too much sympathy for him after his high-profile exit after his response to one of football’s biggest talking points. Gary doesn’t believe that Ronaldo has the ‘same ability’ Messi has, and Ronaldo has stopped speaking to him since he voiced this view.
Such is the tribal nature of the debate between Messi and Ronaldo, almost any suggestion that one player is better than the other is then immediately shouted down by those who insist that their choice is the right one, but Lineker is adamant that it is Messi who is best – even if his fans are furious too.
“I always feel bad because people have a go at me because they say, ‘oh, you don’t like Ronaldo’ – it’s not that I don’t like Ronaldo,” he said. “I absolutely think he’s an incredible footballer, but there’s no argument about who is the better footballer. Anyone that understands the game will see that.
“But I’ve got so much admiration for Christiano, because he’s so driven and his career has been so successful and he’s scored so many goals. In many eras, he’d be the best player of his time.
“But the fact that he’s actually putting the same breath and lots of people do make the comparison is a huge compliment to him, really, of what he’s achieved.
“Because he hasn’t got the ability that Messi has. No one has. But it’s not an insult to Ronaldo to say that.”
Louis then asked if people get annoyed about his opinion. Gary told him: “Ronaldo fans. And Ronaldo gets annoyed, he doesn’t speak to me anymore. We used to get on all right. And then suddenly you know, I was interviewed or something and asked you know, who’s a better player? Well, Messi. Then he doesn’t like you anymore then.”
The two superstars had swiftly ascended to stardom in the opening seasons of their career, but their rivalry went into overdrive when they spearheaded Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively. The duo were two of the greatest players ever to step onto a pitch, and they led two of modern football’s greatest sides.
The legendary duo cultivated formed arguably the finest rivalry in football history during their days in La Liga. Ronaldo spearheaded Real Madrid to unprecedented success in an era that also saw Messi take Barcelona to new heights.
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The Louis Theroux Podcast is available on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
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