🚨Andrea Pirlo on Lionel Messi being nominated for the 2026 Ballon d’Or while Cristiano Ronaldo isn’t:
“At this stage of their careers, you simply cannot compare Messi and Ronaldo. They became different types of players.
Messi has always been a playmaker as much as a goalscorer. He can operate anywhere across the attacking line, drop deeper, create chances, control the tempo and still decide games with goals and assists.
Ronaldo was an explosive winger when he was young. He could create, dribble and score. But later in his career, he became a pure striker, and naturally his involvement in the build-up became less.
Today, Messi can still dictate a game from deeper positions. Ronaldo’s main responsibility is finishing. Defenders know this, so they focus on denying him space inside the box.
That is why, at this age, football naturally favours Messi’s style more. And honestly, Messi could play until he is 50 and still find a way to influence games. His understanding of football is simply different.”
🚨🇪🇸 Iker Casillas:
🗣️ “Raphinha is not only the best player in the world right now, but also the smartest. 🔵🔴
🗣️ “The way he went inside the goal net when Pedri was taking a shot against Valencia to avoid any possibility of being offside isn’t talked about enough.
🗣️ “Only players with 100% match awareness can think about such small details in a split second. 👀
🗣️ “I genuinely can’t name another player who could have done this.” 🧠🔵🔴