Former Manchester United coach Rene Meulensteen has revealed that Lionel Messi‘s stunning season made Cristiano Ronaldo work harder. He claims that the Barcelona legend’s constant goals was the spark that got the Al-Nassr superstar to aim for the top.
Speaking to Action Network, Meulensteen said that Ronaldo stayed an extra season at Manchester United because of Sir Alex Ferguson. He added that Ronaldo’s dream at that time was to play for Real Madrid, but the Barcelona legend’s performance made him aim higher and go for the GOAT tag. He said via GOAL:
Cristiano Ronaldo scored 33 goals in his first season at Real Madrid, while Lionel Messi got 47 in the same time frame. The two notched 53 goals each in the following season before the Argentine scored 73 and left the Portuguese behind despite his then career best tally of 60 goals.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are close to calling it a time on their careers and have admitted that they are at their final club. Both players have stated they want to retire at Inter Miami and Al-Nassr, respectively, and are in talks to extend their contracts.
Messi has taken the lead in their rivalry for the Ballon d’Or. The Argentine has eight trophies in his tally, while Ronaldo is left behind with five.
Lionel Messi also managed to win the FIFA World Cup in 2022, while Ronaldo is aiming to get his hands on the trophy in 2026.
Sripad has been a Chelsea fan through and through since the age of 9 and can watch their 2012 Champions League triumph on repeat. The undisputed ‘GOAT’ according to him is Lionel Messi and his favorite managers are Jose Mourinho and Sir Alex Ferguson. Apart from popular European leagues, he also likes to follow other leagues like the MLS, Saudi Pro League, Eredivisie, and Liga MX.
Sripad believes in only using the right sources for his articles, and is an expert in understanding how to get the right quotes for each news to provide proper background information. His exploits have led him to become a popular figure in European Football and interviewing Premier League legends such as Alan Shearer, Shay Given, Paul Dickov, and John Barnes. His articles have been much revered amongst the football fraternity and have been shared by the likes of John Terry, Gary Lineker, and Declan Rice.
If given a chance to change a football rule, Sripad wants VAR to be fully automated and offside rules to be less stringent. When not working, he likes to watch past Formula 1 races and play FIFA.
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