“He plays the game in a different manner” - Sunil Chhetri names who among Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi he loves watching

Indian football legend Sunil Chhetri voiced his opinion on the debate between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The 39-year-old opened up on how he felt that the Portuguese icon's style was more imitable but some of the Argentine superstar's actions were unbelievable.

Speaking on the Figuring Out with Raj Shamani podcast, he said:

“I love watching Messi more. But I idolise and learned so much from all of them [great players]. I’m a fan of both [Ronaldo and Messi]. Because of who I am, people always want to ask me, ‘Messi or Ronaldo?’. I don’t even know the context [for the comparison].

“Both of them are outstanding players. Ronaldo [is the player who I’m more similar to]. I’ve followed him a lot. [I relate to him] because of the hard work bit, the discipline and I’m not saying Messi is not. But I have less knowledge about what Messi has done for it. I’ve read more and seen more [on the same about Ronaldo]. I love to follow him [Ronaldo] as a specimen. He works hard, but I enjoy watching Messi more."

Speaking about their on-field performance levels, Chhetri added:

“Forget playing like them because no one can. Even just to think about doing the same thing that Messi does [on the pitch] is difficult. I’m not saying it’s easy to follow or copy or get inspired by Ronaldo. It’s just that the blueprint is easier to understand [for Ronaldo].

“When you watch Messi, you’re like ‘what did he just do? How can that be done?’. He plays the game in a different manner.”

Chhetri has established himself as a legend of Indian football, etching his name alongside the greats of international football. The 39-year-old, who retired recently, bagged 94 goals in 151 appearances, making him the fourth-most prolific goalscorer on the international stage.

Lionel Messi follows Cristiano Ronaldo with penalty miss at Copa America

Just three days after Cristiano Ronaldo missed from the spot for Portugal at Euro 2024 in extra time, Lionel Messi endured a similar moment for Argentina in Copa America 2024 in a penalty shootout.

The Inter Miami star stepped up to take La Albiceleste's first kick after their quarterfinal with Ecuador finished 1-1 after extra time . However, he struck the crossbar with his attempted panenka.

The 36-year-old did not end up regretting it as Emi Martinez pulled off two great saves to ensure Argentina progressed to the last four. It was similar to what happened for the Al-Nassr star with Diogo Costa making three stops for the Selecao against Slovenia in Round of 16 at Euro 2024.