Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo dominated world football for over a decade, sharing every Ballon d’Or between 2008 and 2017. Now, as they near the end of their legendary careers, the two icons are playing for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia and Inter Miami in the United States respectively.
Despite everything, the question of who is better, the Portuguese or the Argentinian, continues to spark heated debate. Some even believe that the debate is over since the genius from Rosario won the 2022 World Cup with the Albiceleste. Angel Di Maria, who played alongside Ronaldo at Real Madrid and played alongside Messi in the national team and at PSG, gave his opinion without hesitation.
A chasm between Messi and Ronaldo
The 2022 world champion and two-time Copa America winner (2021, 2024) believes that the striker with the most Ballons d’Or is the best.
“At the end of the day, the best player is the one who has won the most Ballons d’Or, and Leo has won eight. So for me, there is a certain gap between him and Cristiano,” said Di Maria.