Jose Mourinho gave his verdict on the never-ending debate over which of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi is the better player
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo 'liked' Jose Mourinho's comments about him and Lionel Messi(Image: Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)
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Cristiano Ronaldo has liked an Instagram post of Jose Mourinho arguing in favour of the Manchester United legend over Lionel Messi. Since breaking through as two of the world’s most exhilarating talents in the mid-noughties, the football world has been divided into those who prefer Messi and those who believe Ronaldo to be better.
Their rivalry was at its peak after Ronaldo left United for Real Madrid in 2009 and Messi still played for Barcelona. The pair were the standout stars of their respective clubs and regularly competed against each other for La Liga titles, golden boot awards and Ballon d’Or prizes, with the Portuguese claiming five while his Argentine rival Messi clinched a record eight.
Today, they are considered well past their primes but Ronaldo, aged 40, is on his way to 1,000 career goals at Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, though he is currently on strike. Meanwhile, Messi, 38, won the MLS Cup last year with Inter Miami.
Even so, their respective fan bases still continue the eternal debate over which is actually football’s ‘greatest player of all time’. While Messi usually steers clear of such comparisons, Ronaldo appears more determined to cement his own legacy with his comments in interviews.
The Portuguese forward has seemingly now sought to do so once more by liking an old video on social media of his compatriot Mourinho championing him at the expense of the Barcelona legend, while he still managed Ronaldo at Real Madrid. In the clip from 2012, Mourinho explains why it is more difficult to be Ronaldo.
He says: "I still say that it is more difficult to be Cristiano than Messi. Messi grew up in the team he plays for, with the team-mates he plays with. Cristiano arrived in England at a giant team in crisis, which was only losing. He had to grow over the last two years with this team under construction.
"Messi plays as a number 9 in about 50 square meters, closer to the goal and with less defensive work. Cristiano, on the other hand, is a winger. How can a winger score the same number of goals as a centre forward?
Jose Mourinho (R) greets Real Madrid's Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo who is walking off the pitch
Mourinho coached and defended Ronaldo at Real Madrid(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
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"A winger who defends, who ends a game in the 94th minute running after Pedro in a goal-scoring situation. A winger who, in set pieces, reaches his own area 20 times because he is very important to the defence. A player who is not protected by anything or anyone... It is much, much harder to be Cristiano, let's stop joking."
Despite his obvious stance at the time, which may have stemmed from a certain amount of bias given his club and international affiliations, Mourinho has more recently refused to compare the two global superstars.
In fact, in a move that would likely frustrate the ultra-competitive Ronaldo, he claimed in 2025 that neither player at their peak matched the skill and pure ability of the Brazilian Ronaldo, who played for both Barcelona and Madrid beforehand.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo both have an abundance of Ballon d'Ors
Lionel Messi has more Ballon d'Or wins to his name(Image: Getty Images)
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Mourinho said: "Ronaldo, El Fenomeno. Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi have had longer careers, they have remained at the top every day for 15 years.
"However, if we are talking strictly about talent and skill, nobody surpasses Ronaldo. Injuries killed a career that could have been even more incredible, but the talent that that 19-year-old boy had was something incredible."
Meanwhile, the Al-Nassr captain doubled down last year in his interview with Piers Morgan that he is a better footballer than Messi. He said: "Is Messi better than me? I disagree. I don't want to be humble."
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