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Former Real Madrid manager Fabio Capello, who coached Los Blancos from 1996 to 1997 and again in the 2006–07 season, gave his opinion on the Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi debate. Capello described the Portuguese icon to be an excellent player, but not a genius when compared to his Argentine rival. Fabio Capello said (via Forbes):
"Cristiano is a great player, a great goalscorer, he won titles and the Ballon d'Or, but he hasn't been great like Messi. He's a great footballer, but he's not a genius."
The former England national football team manager also presented his views on the promising Barcelona prodigy Lamine Yamal, where he mentioned that the 16-year-old right winger does not compare to Lionel Messi.
The comparison between the two La Masia graduates began in earnest last summer after Lamine pulled off an extraordinary performance against Tottenham Hotspur and contributed to the Catalan side's victory in just a 10-minute cameo.
Back in 2005, Messi displayed exceptionally well against Juventus, following which, Capello, in charge of Juventus, was so impressed that he asked then-Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard if the young Argentine would be available on loan. Speaking of that moment, Fabio Capello said:
"I discovered Messi at the Gamper and 20-25 minutes into the game I approached Rijkaard and asked him to loan him to me that season. He was a genius."
Giving his opinion on Lamine Yamal, the former AC Milan manager said:
"Lamine has a lot of quality and is very interesting, but he won't be a genius. Messi, Pele and Maradona were the geniuses. [Cristiano] Ronaldo is very close there."
Lamine Yamal made his first-team debut on April 29, 2023, in a match against Real Betis in La Liga, which made him the youngest player to appear for Barcelona's first team since 15-year-old Armando Sagi, almost a century before in 1922. Being a part of the squad, the young Spaniard has already won the 2022–23 La Liga title.
Lionel Messi recently broke a record previously held by Cristiano Ronaldo
Lionel Messi scored two goals in Inter Miami's clash against Nashville SC in Major League Soccer on Saturday (April 20), which led him to break goal scoring record previously held by Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Argentine icon has become the fastest player to net 830 goals in just 1,056 games, 100 games fewer than Cristiano Ronaldo. Now, Lionel Messi has 830 goals in all competitions, while his Portuguese rival has 885 in total.
On April 2, 2024, 39-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo scores his 65th career hat trick in Al-Nassr's clash against Abha Club in the Saudi Pro League. Al-Nassr are currently second in the league with 68 points from 28 matches.
