Manchester United striker Anthony Martial has settled the debate between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi over who was the best in 2016.
The Frenchman was asked who was the greatest player six years ago. He responded by pointing out the difficulty of achieving excellence and that Messi is the closest to achieving this achievement.
Marcial said (via the Daily Star):
“It is very difficult to achieve excellence in football. When you look at players who achieve greatness and excellence, I think the player closest to them is Messi.”
The Frenchman continued his analysis by describing Messi’s qualities:
“He has just about everything, he’s multi-talented and he’s consistent season after season.”
The United striker’s remarks came ahead of Argentina’s 2022 World Cup victory, with many claiming that Messi was the undisputed greatest player in history.
The World Cup is yet another achievement for the PSG striker in his amazing career. Messi has also won the Champions League four times, the Copa America, ten times in La Liga and once in Ligue 1, among other trophies.
He also won the Ballon d’Or seven times and scored 793 goals and 350 assists in 1,003 matches during his career. However, many would argue that Ronaldo’s legacy is more complete, given his immense ability to succeed in various leagues.
The Portuguese great has won league titles in England, Spain and Italy. He won the Champions League five times, including three in a row. Ronaldo broke many records, becoming the historic top scorer in club football with 701 goals and 949 assists. He also holds the top scorer record with 118 goals in 196 appearances for Portugal.
However, Messi’s World Cup victory appears to have put GOAT’s stature firmly on his shoulders, with Martial calling it so in 2016.
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