Cristiano Ronaldo has claimed he is the best player of all time (Image: Getty)
Ronaldo Nazario has reacted to Cristiano Ronaldo controversially . The Al-Nassr forward celebrated his 40th birthday last month but will still hope to guide Portugal to glory next year.
In a recent interview, the younger made his feelings perfectly clear. “I’m talking about numbers. I think I’m the most complete player to have existed,” Ronaldo said on El Chiringuito. “In my opinion, I think it’s me. I do everything well in football: with my head, free kicks, left foot. I’m fast, I’m strong. One thing is taste – if you like Messi, Pelé, Maradona, I understand that, and I respect that – but saying Ronaldo isn’t complete… I’m the most complete. I haven’t seen anybody better than me, and I say it from the heart.”
The Portuguese star has won five Ballon d’Or awards during his career amid constant comparisons with as the two best players of their generation. However, his Brazilian namesake and fellow icon has admitted that he isn’t a fan of declaring himself the best player in football history.
“The truth is that I don’t like to go into that. I think some people have very high self-esteem, right? I prefer people talking about my performance, what I’ve done, who I’ve been, rather than me talking about myself,” Nazario said to .
“But Cristiano Ronaldo has a fantastic trajectory. He’s achieved wonderful things, he’s scored goals in all sorts of ways, even changing positions, hasn’t he? From left forward to centre forward, which is not easy. For sure he is among the best in the history of football.
“Now, I don’t agree that he’s the best. But I respect his opinion. He’s certainly among the best in history, for sure. I would say in the top 10, easily.”
Ronaldo Nazario has spoken about Ronaldo’s recent comments (Image: Getty)
Ronaldo would argue that he has a compelling case to move up Nazario’s rankings. The ex- star holds the record for the most goals scored in the sport and believes he is a more well-rounded player than those above him. However, World Cup-winning striker Nazario demonstrated the complexity of the argument when listing off some of his favourite players.
“Of the whole world? It’s complicated,” Nazario explained. “Pelé is number one, for sure. Messi and Maradona are tied. Then Zico, Romario, Cristiano Ronaldo, Van Basten. There are many players like Zidane, Figo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho Gaúcho, there are many great people on that list.
“But I’m sure I’ll forget someone important, and I’ll regret it. Every time I’m asked about this ranking, I come up with a different list. I can’t stick to a single list.”
While he admitted that Neymar would also make his top 10, R9 was certain that Ronaldo would miss out on a podium place in his personal list. “Pelé is the first, Messi [third] with Maradona in second place. Definitively the top three players,” he said.