JURGEN KLOPP has picked Lionel Messi over Cristiano Ronaldo after wading into the furious GOAT debate.
The Liverpool chief was full of praise for Ronaldo and claimed both players are “impossible” to defend against.
Klopp has picked Messi over Ronaldo as his best player of all time
But Klopp admitted Messi gets his vote as he “makes everything look so simple” and does so much with “much lower physical” attributes.
Speaking to YouTube channel freekickerz, Klopp said: “For me Messi, but I couldn’t admire Ronaldo more than I do already.
“The explanation is the following: We’ve played against both already and both are almost impossible to defend.
“But Messi has much lower physical requirements from birth on.
“If you could paint yourself a perfect player, it would have Ronaldo’s height, he could jump and run as high or quick as Ronaldo can do.
“And what is then even added to that is his total attitude – it is absolutely perfect and professional, it couldn’t be any better.
“And on the other side there is the small Messi who makes everything look so simple.
“And therefore I like him maybe a little bit more as a player on the pitch.
“But Cristiano is also an absolutely incredible player.”
BOSSES DIVIDED
Klopp is by no means the first boss to have their say on the long-running Messi vs Ronaldo argument.
Zinedine Zidane, Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho, Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson are just a few to have had their say – with opinions split.
Zidane reckons: “Cristiano is the best. Messi is his rival and it’s the rivalry everyone wants to see. But Ronaldo is phenomenal.”
Guardiola believes: “”Messi is the best, he is definitely the best. “With all the respect to all the players, I think Messi is on another level.”
Mourinho said: “When you go to Messi and Ronaldo, I think it’s just unfair to compare the players. The only thing I can say is that when I had Ronaldo on my side.”
Messi pips Ronaldo to the post in Klopp’s opinionCredit: Getty – Contributor
Wenger claimed: “You are always tempted a little bit more by a player like Messi.”
And Fergie added: “Messi is a fantastic player, it’s like he’s wearing slippers when he controls the ball.
“But here, for me, is the difference. Messi is a Barcelona player. But Ronaldo could play for Stockport County and score a hat-trick. He has everything.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk