Barcelona stalwart Gerard Pique and former team-mate Gary Lineker straddle the same views on the infernal rivalry between Paris Saint-Germain’s Lionel Messi and Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronald.
Messi’s former team-mate Pique opted for the diplomatic route when it came to offering his views on the enduring debate over who is the better player out of the Argentine and Cristiano Ronaldo. The erstwhile Barcelona defender has a clear preference for his former team-mate and skipper, insisting that Messi operates on a level totally different to that of his long-time rival.
The 34-year-old Paris Saint-Germain superstar Messi, 34, recently won his record-breaking seventh Ballon d’Or in late November to further distance himself from his arch-rival, Ronaldo. However, the flames of the debate between the pair have been stoked and rages on with the Manchester United striker obviously having a better season statistically, having returned 15 goal contributions including assists compared to Messi’s 10. The Portuguese striker also garnered the recent distinction in recent months of being the leading international goalscorer and the first player to reach the 800 goals milestone.
While Ronaldo’s exploits in front of goal with either foot or his head are the stuff of legend, many argue Messi is the more naturally-gifted footballer due to his ability to dance past opponents and superior passing range. Pique certainly believes this is the case having witnessed the Argentine’s precocious talents across 13 trophy-laden seasons at Camp Nou.
However, the Spaniard did not let his strong bond with his then-teammate prevent him from heaping praise on Ronaldo – his ex-teammate at Old Trafford – as he spoke in 2016.
“I think that they are both amazing,” Pique told BT Sport about the two icons.
“We are talking about two of the best players, not just in the world but the history of this sport.
“I always said that Messi has some talent that no one has. I mean, he has the ball and his speed controlling the ball.
“The ball doesn’t go two meters far from his foot, it’s always there. It’s impossible to catch him, this talent I didn’t see from anyone
“Cristiano Ronaldo is such a different player, they are very different. He is tall, strong, he’s really complete. He can do anything.
“He can do goals with the head, free-kicks, penalties, take one on one.
“But for me it’s like Messi is not human but Cristiano is the best of the humans.”
Pique’s stance on the Messi-Ronaldo debate is shared by Gary Lineker, who also labelled the Barcelona academy graduate “not a human being” as he spoke effusively in 2018.
“He is the best player who ever donned a pair of football boots,” the Match of the Day host told Barca TV of Messi.
“If you put all those things together, he frankly is not a human being.”