close
Everton midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure, in 2021, picked Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of Lionel Messi in the GOAT debate. The Malian midfielder has come up against both superstars of modern football in his career.
Doucoure face La Pulga just once in his career, during his time in LaLiga. The Malian was part of the Granada side that lost 3-0 to Lionel Messi's Barcelona in the league in the 2015/16 campaign.
Meanwhile, Doucoure faced Cristiano Ronaldo thrice in his career, in LaLiga when the Portuguese played for Real Madrid and in the Premier League during his second stint with Manchester United. The 32-year-old won one and lost one of the three games.
Speaking in 2021 to Everton's YouTube channel, Doucoure gave a short answer when asked to choose between the Portuguese and the Argentine.
"Ronaldo," said Doucoure (via insidefutbol).
Cristiano Ronaldo's contract with Al-Nassr runs out at the end of this season, and he is yet to sign a new deal. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner has scored goals galore since moving to the Middle East, registering 91 strikes and 19 assists from 103 games.
However, CR7 has failed to win the league so far. Lionel Messi, meanwhile, has won the Leagues Cup and the Supporters' Shield since joining Inter Miami in 2023. Notably, the Argentine's contract with the Herons also runs out at the end of this year.
What has Lionel Messi said about his rivalry with Cristiano Ronaldo?
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi" srcset="https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/05/bfb54-17478249919822-1920.jpg?w=190 190w, https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/05/bfb54-17478249919822-1920.jpg?w=720 720w, https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/05/bfb54-17478249919822-1920.jpg?w=640 640w, https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/05/bfb54-17478249919822-1920.jpg?w=1045 1045w, https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/05/bfb54-17478249919822-1920.jpg?w=1200 1200w, https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/05/bfb54-17478249919822-1920.jpg?w=1460 1460w, https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/05/bfb54-17478249919822-1920.jpg?w=1600 1600w, https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/05/bfb54-17478249919822-1920.jpg 1920w">
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi believes his rivalry with Cristiano Ronaldo has helped get the best out of both players. The two players have dominated football conversations for two decades and remain the benchmark of excellence.
Speaking recently to France Football, La Pulga said that both players deserve credit for their longevity.
“It’s always been a great battle, in sporting terms. I think we’ve fed off each other with this rivalry because we’re both great competitors. He too always wanted to win everything all the time," said Messi.
He continued:
“It was a golden era for us and for every football fan. We deserve a lot of credit for staying at the top for so long. Because, as they say, it’s easy to get there. What’s difficult is staying there. We stayed at the top for 10, 15 years, I don’t know... It was spectacular and remains a great memory for everyone.”
Messi and Ronaldo could lock heads one last time at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Why did you not like this content?
Cancel Submit
Was this article helpful?
like selected
avatar selected
Thank You for feedback
About the author
![](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,
Deepungsu Pandit
Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over six years at Sportskeeda. He has written 9000 articles for the website, and has garnered over 19.5 million reads.
Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.
Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.
Deepungsu has been a Manchester United supporter since the year 2000. Unsurprisingly, his favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson and the Scotsman helped him get through some of the toughest days of his life. Like the fiery Scot, Deepungsu also leaves no stone unturned when it comes to accuracy in articles and only relies on credible sources.
Despite believing in Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland to create an iconic rivalry, Deepungsu reckons no one can match the longevity of Messi and Ronaldo. He spends his leisure time writing about life on his blog, reading books, and playing the guitar.
Know More
Quick Links
More from Sportskeeda
Edited by Sankalp Srivastava