Ruud Gullit has weighed in on the debate surrounding who is the better player between Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona’s Lionel Messi.
The duo have split opinion in recent years, have also won the Ballon d’Or between them on the last four occasions and are first and second favourite to compete for the award this year as well.
Gullit, who won the award himself in 1987 in a year that he played for PSV and then Milan, was the latest to try to differentiate between today’s two biggest stars.
“I think Cristiano Ronaldo is a phenomenon. Messi has problems when he goes back to Argentina because they say he is more Catalan than Argentine – of course, he has lived there for 12 years,” reflected the Dutchman to ESPN Brazil.
“I think Real Madrid are delighted to have Cristiano. He always scores, he doesn’t stop scoring. For me, he is the ideal player. He is fast, tall, good in the air, he has great technique, scores penalties, rides tackles well, he is a leader…
“There is only one negative to Cristiano – he is too good looking. It is the same thing that happened to [David] Beckham, people criticise him because they are jealous of him, they are both very handsome.”
