"I never saw him say that, risk it like that" - Ex-Argentina star reveals what sets Cristiano Ronaldo apart from Lionel Messi

Former Argentina goalkeeper Hugo Gatti reckons Cristiano Ronaldo has always been better than Lionel Messi. He paid homage to the Portuguese icon, crediting him for taking more risks during his storied career.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have dominated the GOAT debate for well over a decade. The two superstars have won a combined total of 13 Ballons d'Or and are still going strong at Al-Nassr and Inter Miami, respectively.

Compared to Messi, Ronaldo has always worn his heart on his sleeve for most of his career, recently claiming he was the best player in football history during an interview with Edu Aguirre. During a conversation with Bolavip, Gatti, who also claimed Pele is the GOAT over Ronaldo and Messi, responded to the 40-year-old's comments:

“In recent times, Cristiano was more important than Messi. He played for bigger clubs, he was a bigger scorer, he always takes a risk. You have to say “I am the best player in history”, I have not heard Messi or Maradona say that. And he says it to you. It doesn’t sound bad to him."

Gatti also explained why he believed Cristiano Ronaldo was superior to Lionel Messi:

"Cristiano was better than Messi and he is better now too. That is the reality. CR7 is playing a football that is not as good, but it is at a different speed and Messi is playing in a country club."

“I wish there were a lot of Cristiano Ronaldos because that would improve and encourage more players who think that, feel it and don't say it. That makes him different from Messi because I've never seen him say that, take a risk like that. Then you have to prove it and Cristiano, at 40 years old, continues to prove it. But he went too far because like Pele, no one else."

Ronaldo has also notably taken more risks during his career by plying his trade in different leagues in and out of Europe during his time at Sporting CP, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus, and Al-Nassr. Meanwhile, Messi spent most of his career at Barcelona, before later moving to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Inter Miami.

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Kylian Mbappe beats Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Neymar to impressive record

Real Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappe recently beat Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Neymar to become the youngest player to reach 500 career goal contributions at the age of 26.

Los Blancos faced off against rivals Atletico Madrid in LaLiga at the Santiago Bernabeu on February 8. Julian Alvarez's penalty in the 35th minute gave Atleti the lead but Mbappe leveled the scores in the 50th minute with a deflected strike to seal a vital point for his side.

As per talkSPORT, Mbappe netted the 313th goal of his career against Atletico Madrid. The 26-year-old has also garnered 187 assists, meaning he became the youngest superstar to reach 500 goal contributions.

In comparison, Cristiano Ronaldo accumulated 302 career goal contributions when he turned 26. Meanwhile, Lionel Messi had 486 goal contributions at the same age, while Neymar bagged 492.