Ronaldo or Messi? Former Atletico Madrid star Diego Godin reveals who was more tough to defend
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have been every defender's nightmare, and now former Atletico Madrid star Diego Godin has revealed which of the two legendary forwards is more challenging to contain.
FollowThe Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi rivalry has gripped football for years. While enthusiasts witnessed perhaps their last head-to-head encounter in Riyadh last week, discussion over who is the better player refuses to die.
Ronaldo and Messi were at their peak when they played for Real Madrid and Barcelona, respectively. Their rivalry in La Liga continues to stir conversations between fans of the two legends. Velez Sarsfield and former Atletico Madrid defender Diego Godin is one star who has plenty of experience defending both Messi and Ronaldo.
When asked between Ronaldo and Messi who was more difficult to defend, Godin explained why the Argentinean superstar posed the more significant issue during an interview on ESPN Uruguay.
"For me it is more difficult to mark Messi," Godín said.
"We are contemporaries. All my time in Europe I had the bad luck of coinciding with both of them. They took several titles from us at Atlético de Madrid. Without Messi at Barcelona or Cristiano at Real Madrid we would have some League safer and maybe some Champions League. We managed to compete with the generation of these monsters," the 36-year-old defender added.
Last month, Argentina overcame France on penalties (4-2), and Messi lifted his maiden FIFA World Cup trophy in Qatar, ending the debate over the greatest player of all time. Ronaldo, who has a Euro win under his belt, is yet to lift the World Cup trophy, and at 37, it looks unlikely that the Portuguese talisman will feature at the showpiece tournament tin 2026.
Last week, when Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) played Riyadh XI, a combination of the team's top players from Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr, Messi and Ronaldo, also squared off in what was likely the final battle of their respective careers. There will, however, be many of these opinions from guys who have faced off against the top two footballers to put on a pair of boots.
