It is rare to see many players that have played with both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Real Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappe is not one of them - he only played with Messi - but it seems like he has a connection with both.
Mbappe idolised Ronaldo growing up, and is easily the player he has learned the most from, and having him play with Messi also gave him a lot of perspective and took some bias aside.
As always, the debate will always remain. The entire world is split in two: Messi fans and Ronaldo fans, but even they can come to agreement from time to time.
What Mbappe just said has made sure that that happens, at least for this specific quote.
Both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi fans will agree with this Kylian Mbappe statement
In between his preparations for the World Cup, he was asked about the age-old debate - Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi. His quotes were actually really smart, and both sets of fans would agree with the Frenchman - for once.
He said: "'I've played with Messi, I've played against Cris, Actually, they're really different. There's really everything that sets them apart."
"Without being condescending: that's something a guy who doesn't play soccer would say [that Messi was all talent and Ronaldo was all hard work]. If you can tell me that Cristiano has no talent or that Messi didn't work hard, it means you've never in your life put on cleats to go train every day."
He is absolutely bang on. He could not be more right than this. So many of the people who take part in this debate, irrespective of which fanbase they are from, have said a statement like this.
In fact, many have said it to defend their own takes and beliefs. You simply cannot be the two greatest players to have ever played the game without having either talent or hardwork. You would need to have both.
Yes, these players came from different environments and circumstances, and were different types of players growing up and had different trajectories, but are we genuinely saying Messi, just because he had talent, did not work hard? Are we saying that Ronaldo, just because he worked so hard, never had a bit of talent?
It is something that has always annoyed people, and it is good to see Mbappe, who has a connection with both, come forward and talk about how it is nonsense.
Just because you do not see it does not mean Messi never worked hard, and just because he was not instantly brilliant like Messi, does not mean Ronaldo did not have talent.
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