Back in April, Paris Saint-Germain right-back Achraf Hakimi joined the long debate of who the GOAT is between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Having played alongside the two legendary players, Hakimi named his GOAT.
In an interview with Foot Mercato, Hakimi partook in the challenge of building his ideal footballer by picking a variety of qualities from other players. He picked Messi’s left foot, Ronaldo’s right foot, his own pace, Sergio Ramos’s power, Kylian Mbappe’s control, and Isco’s intelligence.
In declaring his GOAT, Hakimi opted for Ronaldo. The full-back’s choice is somewhat unexpected, given that he has played more games with Lionel Messi. He played with Cristiano Ronaldo eight times in his initial stint at Real Madrid, as he was one of the players who won the UEFA Champions League title in 2018.
Subsequently, at PSG, Hakimi played with Messi in 59 games across all competitions. Though admiration for Ronaldo is apparent, the full-back has paid Messi words of great respect, calling it “a dream” to play alongside the Argentine legend.
Back in 2015, former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson shared his thoughts on the GOAT debate, picking between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Having brought Ronaldo to United, Ferguson identified the legendary Portuguese striker’s adaptability as a major factor in reaching his conclusion.
During a 2015 interview with the Manchester Evening News, Ferguson stated (via SPORTbible):
After his first Manchester United stint, Cristiano Ronaldo transferred to Real Madrid and netted 450 goals from 438 matches. He then switched to Juventus and netted 101 out of 134 games before coming back to Old Trafford. The all-time great unquestionably enjoyed iconic goalscoring adventures and has scored 93 out of 105 games for Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr.
At the same time, Lionel Messi spent most of his career with Barcelona, where he scored 672 goals in 778 games. Then he played for Paris Saint-Germain, scoring 32 goals in 75 games, and now plays for Inter Miami, where he scored 49 goals in 59 games.
The mercurial Argentine playmaker has eight Ballon d’Or trophies in the bank compared to Ronaldo’s five. He has also lifted the World Cup in the colors of Argentina, which Ronaldo has not achieved with Portugal.
Nnanna’s favorite club is English team Bolton Wanderers because he witnessed Nigeria legend Jay-Jay Okocha’s play for them between 2002 and 2006. His favorite footballer is Ronaldinho due to the Brazilian’s love for the sport and admires Pep Guardiola for redefining football tactics. As a former literature student, Nnanna reckons that the best way of connecting with the readers is to add a bit of empathy in his writing, and relies on trusted websites like Transfermarkt and WhoScored for his articles.
Lionel Messi lifting the World Cup trophy in 2022 is Nnanna’s favorite FIFA World Cup moment, and also follows Major League Soccer due to the diminutive Argentine. He strongly believes that Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland could be the next two superstars in the same light as legendary pair Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
When not writing, he likes to play Football Manager and other simulation games.
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