Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have redefined the way football has been played in the last decade. The rivalry between the duo has captured everyone’s imagination with an endless debate raging between the fans as to who is better.
Former Uruguay captain and 2010 World Cup Golden Ball winner Diego Forlan also had his say on the eternal debate. Speaking in an exclusive interview with DNA, the Mumbai City FC forward picked Messi over Ronaldo. When asked to name the best footballer in the world, Forlan answered:
“In my opinion it's Messi. You have really good players like Cristiano Ronaldo but Messi is the best.”
The Uruguayan legend has enjoyed somewhat of a nomadic career having started his career at Penarol before moving to Indipiendente, Manchester United, Villarreal, Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan followed by a spell in Japan at Cerezo Osaka. Currently playing for Indian Super League side Mumbai City FC, Forlan has had a positive impact in popularising the sport in India and Asia.
Forlan is most fondly remembered for his starring role in Uruguay’s 2010 World Cup Campaign, but when he was asked to pick the best moment of his career, Forlan picked Uruguay’s famous 2011 Copa America triumph.
“There are many but winning the Copa America has to be the greatest. My grandfather won it twice and my father did that once. So, we have four Copas in our family. It's the only family in the whole world which has four international trophies.”
The Indian Super League has reached an interesting stage with Mumbai City making it to the Playoffs for the first time in three years, and Forlan admitted it was the biggest challenge facing him when he first came to Mumbai City FC.
This is the third season and having not made the playoffs till now, it was a big challenge for all of us to reach that stage. We knew it was going to be very difficult as the other teams are really good and you could win or lose against anybody. With our primary goal being achieved, we are looking forward to the fourth team which would qualify. We are enjoying the situation and it would be interesting to find our opponents for the playoffs. (Atletico de Kolkata sit in 4th position and will face Mumbai City FC in the semi-final).
Mumbai City FC will be hoping that Forlan uses all his experience and guides Mumbai to their first ISL title.
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