It’s no secret that Brazilians are some of the most passionate soccer fans in the world. And it seems even the legends of the game have nothing on their compatriots when it comes to supporting their home country. Case in point: Roberto Carlos, one of Brazil’s most decorated footballers, recently shared his thoughts on two of the world’s greatest players, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Basically, Roberto Carlos thinks that both Messi and Ronaldo are good players, but he believes that Ronaldo is truly special. Why? Because, according to Roberto Carlos, there’s nobody in the world who can compare to Ronaldo when it comes to representing his country with pride. So if you’re a fan of Ronaldo or Messi, you might want to take note – Brazilian support is unrivaled!
Roberto Carlos talks about Ronaldo and Messi
Ronaldo may have recently retired, but Roberto Carlos is still not done talking about the brilliance of Messi and Ronaldo. The former Brazil international has claimed that the two Barcelona stars are even better than Cristiano Ronaldo, who he considers to be one of the greatest players of all time.
“Messi and Ronaldo are amazing players,” Roberto Carlos told Fox Sports Brazil. “They’re even better than Cristiano Ronaldo.”
The former Real Madrid forward has had a stellar career, winning numerous trophies including four Champions League titles and three Ballon d’Or awards. However, Roberto Carlos insists that Messi and Ronaldo are something special.
“There’s no comparison,” he said. “Messi and Ronaldo are two different animals.”
Both players have been in blistering form this season, with Messi scoring 52 goals in 53 appearances for Barcelona and Ronaldo netting 47 goals in 47 appearances for Juventus.
Ronaldo is unstoppable
There’s no doubt that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are two of the greatest players in the world, but Brazilian superstar Roberto Carlos says they can’t even come close to matching Ronaldo’s record-breaking achievements.
“Cristiano Ronaldo is unstoppable,” Carlos told ESPN Brasil. “He has broken many records and is one of the best players ever. But Messi is also very good and he has many more years ahead of him.”
Carlos, who won two World Cups with Brazil, also credits the team’s success to coach Dunga. “Dunga helped us a lot,” he said. “He is a great coach and we have all learned from him.”
Ronaldo is now Portugal’s all-time leading scorer with 57 goals in 119 appearances. Messi has 48 goals in 134 appearances for Argentina.
Barkley to Manchester United?
Manchester United have been linked with Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Gareth Bale in recent days, but one player who could be a better fit for the club is Everton’s Romelu Lukaku. Roberto Carlos believes that Lukaku is even better than Cristiano Ronaldo, and has backed his claim by producing some impressive stats.
Lukaku has scored 47 goals in all competitions this season, putting him level on the all-time Premier League top scorer list with Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero. He also leads the way in terms of goals per game ratio, scoring an average of 2.1 goals per outing. Ronaldo, meanwhile, has netted 42 times in all competitions this season but his goal rate is lower – 1.8 per game. Carlos believes that Lukaku’s ability to find the back of the net consistently makes him a more dangerous threat than Ronaldo.
“Lukaku is even better than Cristiano Ronaldo,” Roberto Carlos said on BT Sport recently. “He’s got more goals and he’s scoring more goals.”
Manchester United are known for their attacking style of play, and Roberto Carlos believes that Lukaku would be a perfect fit for Louis van Gaal’s side. The Belgian international
Brazil vs Costa Rica
Brazil are one of the most successful football teams of all time, with a record of 55 international victories. But who is the best player in their history? Roberto Carlos, who played for Brazil from 1982 to 2002 and was also part of the team that won the World Cup in 1994, has his say.
“I would choose Pelé over both Ronaldo and Messi,” Carlos told reporters ahead of Brazil’s last World Cup match against Chile. “Pelé was irreplaceable for Brazil – he was a genius.” However, when asked to compare himself with either Messi or Ronaldo, Carlos said: “They are very different players. Messi is more creative, but Ronaldo is stronger physically.”