Di Maria tears Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo debate to shreds

Modern football has long been dominated by the rivalry between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, with the pair also currently in the swansong phase of their careers. Fans and experts have been left split over the two, and haven't been able to reach a conclusion.

Meanwhile, Messi has always kept a neutral stance and has never really weighed in on the debate. On the other hand, Ronaldo has always been vocal about it, claiming that he is the greatest of all time on many occasions.

What did Cristiano Ronaldo say?

Ronaldo's recent statement came on a Spanish television show, where he said, "I'm talking about numbers. I think I'm the most complete player to have existed. In my opinion, I think it's me. I do everything well in football: with my head, free kicks, left foot.

I'm fast, I'm strong. One thing is taste—if you like [Lionel] Messi, Pelé, [Diego] Maradona, I understand that and I respect that—but saying Ronaldo isn't complete... I'm the most complete. I haven't seen anybody better than me, and I say it from the heart."

The former Real Madrid player also added, "Who's the best goal scorer in history? It's about numbers. Full stop. Who's the player in history who's scored most goals with their head, their left foot, penalties, free kicks? I was looking the other day, and not being left-footed, I'm in the top 10 goal scorers with their left foot in history. And with my head, and with my right foot, and penalties. All of them."

Angel di Maria's response to Cristiano Ronaldo

Angel di Maria, who is one of the few players to have been teammates with both of them, decided to respond to Ronaldo's claims. Di Maria and Ronaldo were teammates at Real Madrid, before the former's departure to Manchester United. Meanwhile, Di Maria also played with Messi for Argentina, winning notably the 2022 World Cup title, where he also scored in the final.

In an interview with InfoBae, the Benfica star said, "I'm not surprised, I was with him [Ronaldo] for four years. It was always like that. He always made those statements, he always tried to be the best, but well, he was born in a generation, just at a bad time, because another one was born who was touched by the magic wand [Messi]."

The reality is shown in numbers. One has eight Ballons d'Or, the other five. There is a very big difference. Being a world champion is another very big difference, having two Copa Americas. There are many differences, many. And then you see him in the games, you see it in every minute of every game, that one plays as if he were in the backyard. He hits the same goal as always and keeps doing it. And he's been doing it for 18, 20 years.

"How long has he been doing the same thing? And everyone says, 'but you already know what he's going to do,' well, go mark him and he'll do it anyway and he'll still be 40 years old and still do tiki-taka, tiki-taka. That's how it is. But, well, Cristiano is like that too. He always made statements that way. It was always the same. For me, Leo [Messi] is the best in the world and the best in history, without a doubt," he added.

Ronaldo and Messi are two of the most decorated players in football history, having bagged 77 official trophies in total (Messi has 44 and Ronaldo 33) during their senior careers so far, and have also gone past the 50-goal barrier in a single season many times.