Manchester City midfielder Rodri has weighed in on the endless Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo debate, revealing an emphatic preference for the Argentine forward.
Rodri was officially crowned the best male player in the world at this year’s Ballon d’Or ceremony, controversially pipping Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior to the title. The Spanish European champion finished top of a nominees list which didn’t include Messi or Ronaldo for the first time in 21 years.
The pair have won 13 Ballon d’Or crowns between them and are widely considered to be two of the greatest players of all time. The Messi-Ronaldo debate has raged on for more than a decade, but Rodri has made up his mind.
“I have no doubt about it, Messi,” Rodri revealed on Antenna 3’s show El Hormiguero. “I always say that Cristiano has managed to match Messi in many things, perhaps without the innate talent that Leo has, but those of us who really play against them quickly realise the difference.”
Rodri first came up against the legendary duo when he was a youngster at Villarreal. Messi scored within ten minutes of his maiden meeting with the Spanish midfielder, firing in the first of seven goals in eight confrontations. Ronaldo racked up a memorable hat-trick for Juventus against an Atletico Madrid side containing Rodri in the 2018/19 Champions League knockout stages.
“Cristiano, for example, what you didn’t want him to do was step into the box, because when he did step into the box he was lethal,” Rodri explained. “But Messi was lethal on all sides of the pitch. The ball came to him and you knew something bad was going to happen, you didn’t know what, but you did know that something bad was going to happen.
“So I remember when I started playing against him, when I was 17 or 18, going to take the ball from him and he would move like a bullfighter side-stepping a heifer.”
Rodri sent a heartfelt message to his Spanish compatriot Dani Carvajal while accepting his award. The Euro 2024 Player of the Tournament also lauded the future potential of Lamine Yamal and the past impact of Andres Iniesta after becoming the first Spanish man to win the Ballon d’Or since Luis Suarez in 1960. The last four Ballons d’Or Feminin have gone to Alexia Putellas and Aitana Bonmati.
“In my opinion, Spain has had the best generation or has had one of the best moments in the history of football, not only with the national team, but also with the Spanish league, and that we only had one Ballon d’Or, the truth is that it was a curious thing,” Rodri noted.
“And well, that golden generation that we had was not able to win it, made me want to pay tribute to it because honestly there are many of them that I think are better players than me and that do not have it at home, but they have lived in the era of two ‘martians’ like Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.”