Paulo Dybala is among the few players in the world who have played with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. While the majority look to compare the two and debate on who is better, the Argentine chose to focus on what they both have in common.
Dybala Comments on Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo
Messi and Ronaldo have been dominating the world of soccer for nearly two decades, and the battle for the GOAT status is never-ending. They had a long-standing rivalry on the pitch for nine years in La Liga, but have left European football in the last three years.
One of the players who benefited from training with both players is Dyabala, and he has now opened up about them in a conversation with AgustÃn Creevy on his YouTube channel.
The Argentine said that the two were technically different and had their own strengths, but were on the same psychological level. He claimed that their mentality on the pitch to do their best for the team was unmatched by other players and said:
“Technically they are different, they have different strengths, but they are both beasts on a psychological level.”
With Messi, Dyaba has never played at the club level, but they shared the dressing rooms. However, he played just 18 matches alongside the Barcelona legend, and they have combined for just one goal, the AS Roma star’s goal off the bench in the Finalissima in 2022 against Italy.
The Argentine star has shared the dressing room with Ronaldo at Juventus, and the duo played 93 matches together for the Serie A side. They combined for 15 goals before the Portuguese superstar left the Italian side to return to Manchester United in 2021.
He heaped praise on the Al-Nassr captain in the same interview and said, “Players like him have a presence both on and off the field. He would grab the ball and aim for the goal. He didn’t care about anything else. He could lose the ball a hundred times, and he would keep trying. They don’t like to lose at anything.”
Dybala added, “He was very professional when it came to his care and routine; he didn’t budge an inch. He arrived at the appointed time, at 8 or 9 in the morning, and until he left, you could see that he always did the same thing. His mind was focused on that, and you realize that he was the same off the field.”
Messi and Ronaldo signed contract extensions at their respective clubs last year, keeping them at Inter Miami and Al-Nassr until 2028 and 2027, respectively.
