"Had the bad luck of coinciding with both" - When Diego Godin revealed who between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo was tougher to defend

Former defender Diego Godin once revealed who he had the most difficulty defending against between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The ex-Uruguyan international stated that it was more difficult to mark the Argentine superstar.

Godin spent 12 seasons playing in La Liga for Villarreal and Atletico Madrid. The centre-back faced Messi and Ronaldo multiple times across competitions. During an interview with ESPN Uruguay in 2013, Godin disclosed that Messi was a tougher opponent to defend against than Ronaldo.

He said (via PSG Talk):

"For me it is more difficult to mark Messi. We are contemporaries. All my time in Europe I had the bad luck of coinciding with both of them. They took several titles from us at Atlético de Madrid."

"Without Messi at Barcelona or Cristiano at Real Madrid we would have some League safer and maybe some Champions League. We managed to compete with the generation of these monsters," Godin added.

Diego Godin played against Lionel Messi 42 times across matches for club and country. He won only two of those matches, with the Inter Miami star scoring 29 times in games against him.

Meanwhile, he faced Cristiano Ronaldo on 34 occasions, winning 10 times and conceding 25 goals to the Portuguese legend.

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James Rodriguez claims Brazil star would have won multiple Ballon d'Ors if not for Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo

Colombian star James Rodriguez has made a bold claim regarding Brazilian star Neymar Jr and the Ballon d'Or. The former Real Madrid man believes that the Santos winger would have won three Ballons d'Or if not for Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

In a recent interview, James said (via Tribuna)

"In my opinion, if not for Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar would have won three Ballon d'Ors. But he had to compete with these beasts."

Neymar is widely regarded as one of the best players of his generation. The Brazilian winger was touted by many to dominate the football space due to his skills and talent. However, he failed to attain the expected heights due to an injury-laden career.

During his prime, Neymar was overshadowed by Messi and Ronaldo's brilliance. The 33-year-old notably finished in third place behind the two superstars in the 2015 and 2017 Ballon d'Or rankings.

Lionel Messi has won the most Ballon d'Ors (eight) while Cristiano Ronaldo has claimed the accolade five times.