STEVEN GERRARD appears to have changed his opinion on the Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi debate.
The Al-Ettifaq gaffer has weighed in to the “GOAT” debate between the two legendary players, but fans have noticed he has contradicted himself.
Speaking in a recent interview for the Saudi Pro League, Gerrard labelled Ronaldo as the greatest player of all time.
He said: “The arrival of the ‘GOAT’ as we call him, Cristiano, him arriving in January [was] obviously a huge signing,
“He still had a lot of football to offer. From afar, for six months, I was looking in at Cristiano Ronaldo’s results, watching some games, watching some highlights.
“I think from that moment, the league around the world became a very popular talking point for everyone.”
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Ronaldo joined Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr in the January of 2022 from Manchester United and was the first of a slew of global superstars to make the move to the Middle East.
But despite Ronaldo’s tremendous achievements in world football, fans were quick to point to a video of Gerrard back in 2022 saying that Messi was actually the best player in the world.
Speaking to Gary Neville on The Overlap, the then Aston Villa manager was asked to choose his greatest player of all time.
Gerrard quickly replied: “Lionel Messi for me.”
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The debate around Messi and Ronaldo is one that has been raging on for years with the pair consistently breaking records and leaving fans in awe of their ability.
Although Messi’s World Cup win last year may have taken him a step ahead of his fierce competitor with Ronaldo yet to get his hands on the illusive trophy.
The change in opinion for Gerrard comes soon after the Liverpool legend joined the same league as Ronaldo to manage at Al-Ettifaq.
The 43-year-old’s side are currently seventh in the Saudi Pro League, nine points off Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr who sit in second spot.
However they did manage a 2-1 win over the Riyadh club earlier in the season with Ronaldo unavailable for the match.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
