Real Madrid icon Marcelo has named his favorite player between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. The retired defender saw both players during their prime, sharing the pitch with Ronaldo for Real Madrid and mostly playing against Messi at Barcelona.
Marcelo picks his favorite between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo
During a recent interview with DjMaRIIO, Marcelo picked Lionel Messi as one of the toughest opponents he faced in his career, while also giving his take on the Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo debate.
“Messi was a real pain. Jesús Navas also made things very difficult for me, and Xabi Prieto was also very hard to defend against. Pedro was also very good. However, I always choose Cristiano Ronaldo. Messi is incredible. We've enjoyed watching both of them, well, I've only enjoyed watching one. I'm a die-hard Cristiano fan,” he said.
Marcelo's full support towards Cristiano Ronaldo
This was not the first occasion that Marcelo has backed Ronaldo. During a livestream on Twitch with Streamer Marlon in July, the former Brazilian international was asked to choose between Messi and Ronaldo. He praised both players but picked his former Real Madrid teammate.
“We are so lucky because we saw both of them (Ronaldo and Messi). We didn't see Pele and Maradona but we saw Cristiano and Messi. I love Cristiano, I played with him but I love to see Messi play. I suffered a lot against Messi, you know? I was there, I'm so lucky. For me, it's Cristiano because I played with him.”
Marcelo's strong connection with Cristiano Ronaldo
While Marcelo has since retired from the sport, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are still going strong for both club and country. Marcelo and Ronaldo featured alongside each other 333 times and combined for 33 goals.
Marcelo's weak record against Lionel Messi
He faced Messi 33 times, but managed to get only 10 wins, while Messi had 16 wins.
When Lionel Messi reflected on his bond with Cristiano Ronaldo
In June, Lionel Messi talked about his relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo, saying that he has a lot of respect for his Portuguese rival but that they were not friends. He told DSports:
“I have a lot of respect and admiration for Cristiano Ronaldo and for the career he’s had and continues to have, because he’s still competing at the highest level.
“The competition with him was on the pitch. Each of us wanted to do the best for our team. Obviously, as always, everything stayed on the field. Off the pitch, we are two normal people. We’re not friends obviously because we don’t spend time together, but we’ve always treated each other with a lot of respect.”
The duo last faced off in December 2020, when Juventus beat Barcelona 3-0 in the UEFA Champions League.