Although he has never had any problem in recognizing the conditions of Cristiano Ronaldo, Carles Puyol had no hesitation in saying that Lionel Messi always seemed to him a more difficult player to mark. And he used a very direct argument to explain his final answer.
For some time now, when he was retired, the eternal captain of FC Barcelona was asked to choose the toughest footballer to defend between the two most consistent players of all time. And even though he also recognized how complex his battles were with The bugthe Spanish world champion assured that the Argentine genius is simply incomparable because he can make a difference in different areas of the field.
That’s right, for Puyol, Messi is the most difficult opponent you can find in the elite because nobody masters as many facets of the game as he does. He is a talent who can score in the end zone, who breaks down an entire defense with a single touch, who can unbalance multiple opponents, who creates chances from outside the box and who has unique technical ability.
WHO IS MORE DIFFICULT TO MARK BETWEEN MESSI AND CRISTIANO?
“I have suffered Leo (Messi) in training and he has made me mischievous. I have had Cristiano (Ronaldo) as a rival and he has been a difficult footballer to stop due to his tremendous qualities. With all this, I think it is more difficult to stop Messi because of his more complete way of playing and in various areas, without forgetting his tremendous technical category and speed ”, sentenced the three-time UEFA Champions League champion, in statements collected for several seasons by MundoDeportivo.
Carles Puyol did not stay with the basic explanation of choosing Lionel Messi solely because he shared a team with him, but he gave a fairly clear argument about his greatest difference on the field with Cristiano Ronaldo. Starting from the fact that the two are a true nightmare for any defender, the Spanish legend opted for the top winner of the Ballon d’Or due to his way of dominating the game, executing different facets on the field like nobody else (scorer, assister, orchestrator and dribbler).
Undefeated Data. Cristiano Ronaldo only scored 6 goals in the 17 games in which he had Carles Puyol as a direct rival. In fact, the balance of their confrontations ended up being favorable for the former Spanish defender with 8 wins, 4 draws and 5 losses against the Portuguese attacker.
Did you know..? Without having focused solely on finishing plays throughout his career, Lionel Messi is the player who has won the Golden Boot the most times (6) in all of history: 2009/10, 2011/12, 2012/13, 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19. He has the most beastly goalscoring records ever seen in professional football.
