"All free-kick goals and pure luck" - When Lionel Messi's ex-teammate Sergio Aguero made bold claims about Cristiano Ronaldo

In 2023, Sergio Aguero ignited the Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi debate when he claimed that the legendary Portuguese's goals were simply “pure luck”. The former Argentina striker spoke about the two icons of football on a live Twitch stream to rubbish Ronaldo’s goal count and question the striker's abilities.

Aguero, who played alongside Messi for the Argentina national team and is known to be the legendary playmaker's good friend, said (via GOAL):

"Look where he scores the goal from. Come on. All free-kick goals and pure luck. Messi's are all at the angle, stupid. But what does [Ronaldo] do? Goalkeeper's fault. I think Raul has better goals, [Karim] Benzema I think he has better ones."

The former Manchester City man has never hidden his admiration for Lionel Messi, who played a role in his 2021 move to Barcelona. However, he didn't share the pitch at the club level with the playmaker, who signed for PSG. Aguero's playing career ended prematurely in December 2021 because of a heart condition.

It's worth noting that Cristiano Ronaldo has racked up over 900 career goals for club and country. He's the first player to do so, but is closely followed by Messi, who has crossed the 850 mark.

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Angel Di Maria weighs in on Cristiano Ronaldo's GOAT claim, putting Lionel Messi ahead of the Portugal icon

Angel Di Maria has weighed in on Cristiano Ronaldo’s assertion that he's the greatest footballer of all time, giving an indication that he considers Lionel Messi to be the number one.

The Argentine winger has had the privilege of having played with both Ronaldo and Messi, who, in his opinion, is the greatest player to play the sport.

Di Maria played with Ronaldo at Real Madrid, winning the UEFA Champions League together. He has also won the World Cup and Copa America with Messi and Argentina.

During an interview with InfoBae, Di Maria tipped his hat to Ronaldo’s quality, but he believes there's no competition when it comes to the GOAT (via GOAL):

"I'm not surprised, I was with him [Ronaldo] for four years. It was always like that. He always made those statements, he always tried to be the best, but well, he was born in a generation, just at a bad time, because another one was born who was touched by the magic wand (Messi).

"The reality is shown in numbers. One has eight Ballons d'Or, the other five. There is a very big difference. Being a world champion is another very big difference, having two Copa Americas... For me, Leo (Messi) is the best in the world and the best in history, without a doubt."

Cristiano Ronaldo has won five Ballon d'Or awards, while Lionel Messi has racked up an unprecedented eight over the last two decades.