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Mourinho Explains Why It’s Harder Being Cristiano Ronaldo Than Lionel Messi [Video]

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Mourinho Explains Why It’s Harder Being Cristiano Ronaldo Than Lionel Messi [Video]

A clip of Jose Mourinho explaining why it’s harder to be Cristiano Ronaldo than Lionel Messi has surfaced on social media.

Filmed in 2012, when Mourinho was managing Ronaldo at Real Madrid, Mourinho told A Bola, per the Independent: “It would be a crime for Cristiano to not win the Ballon d’Or. And I keep saying it’s harder to be Cristiano than Lionel Messi.

“I’ll tell you: Messi grew up in the team he plays for now; with the teammates, he plays with now. Cristiano came from England to a team that was losing. He had to grow up in the past two years with this team in construction.

“One plays centre forward and the other is a winger. Messi is about 50 metres closer to the goal and has less defensive work. How can a winger score the same amount of goals as a centre-forward does?

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“This is a winger that defends, a winger that ends the game in the 94th minute with a sprint to chase Pedro in a goal scoring position. This is a player that, in dead ball situations, comes 20 times to the defensive area.

“He is very important to the defensive set up. He is a player that isn’t protected by nothing or nobody. It’s much, much harder.”

Watch the clip below:

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Mourinho was speaking in the calendar year that Messi, playing for Barcelona at the time, scored a record-breaking 91 goals for club and country.

But Ronaldo was also prolific under Mourinho, scoring a total of 168 goals in 164 games, while also registering a further 49 assists.

READ ALSO: Worry For France As Duo Miss Training Ahead Of World Cup Semi-Final Against Morocco

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Whatever else happens between now and the days they retire, both Ronaldo and Messi have safely secured their places alongside the likes of Pele and Diego Maradona on the pantheon of all-time greats.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi might be approaching the end of their illustrious careers but both legends have still dominated the headlines at the Qatar World Cup.

Ronaldo bowed out of the tournament in tears after his Portugal side suffered a shock 1-0 defeat against Morocco on Saturday.

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Reports suggest the 37-year-old has no intention of ending his international career but it’s difficult to envisage him being an option for the 2026 World Cup finals.

Messi, on the other hand, has been one of the standout performers of the 2022 World Cup.

Two years younger than Ronaldo, Messi will move a significant step closer to realising his lifelong dream of inspiring Argentina to World Cup glory with victory over Croatia in the semi-finals on Tuesday night.

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Even if Messi wins the World Cup on Sunday, though, there will be some football fans who will always believe that Ronaldo is (or was) the better player.

The reverse would have been true had Ronaldo won the World Cup with Portugal.

The eternal Messi vs Ronaldo debate is likely to rumble on forever, just like the GOAT debate. At the end of the day it’s all down to personal opinion. There is no right or wrong answer.

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