Lionel Messi was spot on when asked to assess five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo’s performance in his second spell at Manchester United
Around this time 12 months ago, Cristiano Ronaldo dramatically ended his contract with Manchester United following his explosive interview with Piers Morgan.
After being greeted with such admiration, adulation and cheers again in the summer of 2021, few could have predicted that Ronaldo’s second season at Old Trafford would end in tears. However, one might have a hunch about Ronaldo’s long-time Ballon d’Or rival Lionel Messi.
Around this time, Messi was involved in a move to French giants Paris Saint-Germain, with some suggesting Ronaldo was actually in better shape than the Argentinian. However, he did warn that it won’t be smooth sailing when it comes to his fellow football icon’s return to the Red Devils.
Solskjaer, who was responsible for Ronaldo’s return, was sacked three months after the signing was announced. The Norwegian lost his place in the Old Trafford dugout in November 2021, and shortly afterwards Messi gave his opinion on United’s fate in an interview with Marca.
“Manchester United is a very strong team with great players. Cristiano already knew the club, but that was at another stage and now he has adapted in an impressive way,” the former Barcelona The star explained. “From the start, he was scoring goals as usual and had no problems adapting.”
Messi’s next words rang true, as he added: “In the Premier League, things are not as good as we all imagined, but it is a very difficult and even game where things can change a lot. Things change a lot after December and anything can happen.”
While it wasn’t that season and it was almost exactly a year since Messi made his comments, things did change for United in December as it was the first month they had to cope on their own following Ronaldo’s controversial departure. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner said goodbye to everyone, including head coach Erik ten Hag, his predecessor Ralf Rangnick and the Glazer family.
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To add to Ronaldo’s misery, just a month after that interview, Messi managed to pick up a trophy, something the former Real Madrid man will now likely never do at the World Cup. In contrast, Ronaldo was shown crying on camera after Portugal’s elimination. Quarterfinal stage.
Now that Ronaldo’s illustrious career is coming to an end, he appears in the Saudi Professional League alongside Al Nasr. Messi has a similar story, choosing to move to Major League Soccer with Inter Miami.
Messi and Ronaldo don’t face each other as often as they once did, but the former clearly looks back on those La Liga days thoroughly. The Camp Nou icon added: “It’s a very beautiful stage for us and for the people because they love it so much. It’s a great memory that will remain in the history of football.”
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