"It's harder to be Cristiano than Messi" - Jose Mourinho's analysis on the difference between Ronaldo and Messi resurfaces 

Jose Mourinho’s decade-old analysis of the comparison between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi has resurfaced. It is taking social networking sites by storm.

In that interview (reported via Eurosport in 2012), the Portuguese manager had picked Ronaldo over Messi. Mourinho had claimed it was a lot harder to replicate the Portugal number 7’s exploits on the pitch.

Mourinho, who is currently in charge of AS Roma, managed Ronaldo for three seasons between 2010 and 2013. Messi, of course, was in the Barcelona camp, shattering records under the great Pep Guardiola.

Between 2009 and 2012, the then-Barcelona ace bagged four consecutive Ballons d’Or, leaving Ronaldo, who was also operating at an exceptional level, in the dust.

In a 2012 interview, Mourinho openly backed the then-Real Madrid star, claiming the critics didn’t take Ronaldo’s struggles and defensive contributions into account.

Speaking to ABola (via The Independent), the former Porto coach had stated:

"It would be a crime for Cristiano to not win the Ballon d'Or. And I keep saying it's harder to be Cristiano than Lionel Messi. I'll tell you: He grew up in the team he plays for now; with the teammates he plays with now. Cristiano came from England to a team that was losing. He had to grow up in the past two years with this team in construction.”

Mourinho added:

"One plays centre forward and the other is a winger. Messi is about 50 metres closer to the goal and has less defensive work. How can a winger score the same amount of goals as a centre forward does?"

He signed off by saying:

"This is a winger that defends, a winger that ends the game in the 94th minute with a sprint to chase Pedro in a goal scoring position. This is a player that, in dead ball situations, comes 20 times to the defensive area. He is very important to the defensive set up. He is a player that isn't protected by nothing or nobody. It's much, much harder."

The 36-year-old played 164 games under his compatriot at Real Madrid, scoring 168 goals and providing 49 assists. His best-ever 46-goal La Liga campaign in 2011-22 helped Los Blancos to their first league title in four years.

Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of Lionel Messi in 2021-22 goal tally

Neither Cristiano Ronaldo nor Lionel Messi have been at their best this season. If we still had to pick a statistically superior player, we would have to go with the Portuguese this term. The Manchester United star has 14 goals and three assists to his name this season in 24 appearances across competitions.

The PSG man, on the other hand, has only registered six goals and six assists in all competitions. Even though the Argentine skipper has played seven games fewer than his arch-nemesis, his goal tally hardly does his qualities any justice. The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner has a reputation to live up to, and fans cannot wait to see how he responds to the challenge.