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Pep Guardiola, the manager of Manchester City, gave his thoughts on the iconic Lionel Messi versus Cristiano Ronaldo rivalry in the aftermath of Rodri winning the Ballon d’Or in a glittering ceremony a couple of night’s ago. During the pre-match press conference ahead of the League Cup round of 16 trip to Tottenham, Guardiola remarked that while Ronaldo was a monster, the father of the said monster is Messi, which sent the social media into a complete meltdown.
Notably, during his time as a manager at Barcelona, Pep Guardiola and Lionel Messi were one of, if not the most feared partnerships in all of football, and their rivalry with Jose Mourinho and Cristiano Ronaldo elevated the sport in so many ways. In the last 20 years or so, while Messi won the Ballon d’Or a whopping eight times, Ronaldo wasn’t that far behind with five titles of his own, which led to both footballers cementing their legacies among the greatest footballers in history.
Pep Guardiola appreciates Rodri for his Ballon d'Or win during his recent press conference
For the first-time in years, both Ronaldo and Messi weren’t a part of the final list of nominees for the Ballon d’Or, and the award ultimately went to Spanish midfielder Rodri, who managed to play a key role in winning the UEFA Euro 2024 for his country along with the Premier League title with Manchester City. While appreciating Rodri for his success, Pep Guardiola turned his attention to Messi and Ronaldo’s exploits in recent years, who dominated the winner’s list of the aforementioned award for a long time.
Watch the video of Pep Guardiola's hot take on Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo:
Guardiola gave a hot take about the two of the greatest footballers of all-time, and said, “No one could beat Messi, only Cristiano. Cristiano was a monster and the father of the monster is Messi. And both have done something incredible in the last 20 years.” He talked about how these two players were the only reason why some of the greatest midfielders in the game, including the likes of Xavi, Iniesta, Scholes, and more, could get their hands on the Ballon d’Or, but it isn’t the case now with Rodri emerging as the winner.
“Maybe Xavi and Iniesta deserved it as well. So I think Rodri yesterday Rodri got what the Spanish football deserved worldwide,” he further added. Moreover, Rodri is the first defensive midfielder to win the Ballon d’Or since Lothar Matthaus, who got it in 1990, apart from being the third Spanish player to take the coveted trophy home after Alfredo Di Stefano and Luis Suarez.
