“I've played against both” - When John Mikel Obi explained why should be ‘no comparison’ between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in GOAT debate 

Former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel once explained why he put Lionel Messi on a higher pedestal than his arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo. The duo are widely regarded as two of the best ever in the game's history.

Having played for over two decades, each player has scored over 850 times for club and country, winning numerous big titles and individual honours. Fans and players - both former and current - are often divided on how's the better of the two.

However, Mikel - who played for the Blues between 2006 and 2017 - has no doubt on who's the indisputable GOAT. On Rio Ferdinand Presents FIVE in November 2023, the former Nigeria international take said about the legendary duo:

"I’m a Messi fan. When we played against (Manchester) United when Cristiano was there we knew Ash (Ashley Cole) would deal with him. He is capable of dealing with him.

"I know the comparison is there, but because I've played against both, and Messi was close to me when we played against them. But, for me, and I'm not going to say miles because of what Cristiano has done as well, but, for me, I really don't see the comparison. I just think Messi is from a different planet. I just think he is that good."

Both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo now ply their club football outside Europe. While the former plays for MLS side Inter Miami - whom he joined in the summer of 2023 - Ronaldo has been with Saudi Pro League giants Al-Nassr since December 2022.

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What did John Obi Mikel say about defending against Cristiano Ronaldo's arch-rival Lionel Messi?

Crtistiano Ronaldo (left) and Lionel Messi

In the aforementioned interaction, John Obi Mikel noted how difficult it was to play against Lionel Messi. The Nigerian crossed swords with Messi - who was then with Barcelona - in the UEFA Champions League,

Mikel talked about the difficulty of marking Cristiano Ronaldo's arch-rival and how all his teammates would resort to kicking Lionel Messi to get the ball off him. The former Chelsea man detailed:

"Every time it was against Barcelona, of my god, training the whole week was about Messi. We have to have two, or three players with him, you can't defend one-v-one against him. It's impossible. You're dead.

"And the way they play, the way they move the ball around with the sole purpose of getting the ball to him, and all he's doing is watching the game. I know we all talk about how he walks around, but it's just to find the space. Once that ball gets to him, the movement everybody is running and moving, it's so difficult (to play against).

He concluded:

"The game plan was just to kick him because we can't get the ball off him or get close enough. If you think he is there, he is gone. You can watch our games when we play them. JT (John Terry) is tackling, Frankie's (Frank Lampard) tackling, I'm tackling, everybody's putting in tackles. That's the only way we could stop him."

Lionel Messi has just started the 2025 MLS season with Miami, while Cristiano Ronaldo is into the final few months of the 2024-25 campaign with Al-Nassr.