“It's like when Messi and Ronaldo were picking up the Ballon d’Or" - Peter Crouch makes interesting Manchester City comparison

Peter Crouch has compared Manchester City's consistency to footballing greats Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The Cityzens displaced Arsenal at the top of the Premier League today (May 11) with a 4-0 win over Fulham.

The former Premier League striker worked as a pundit for TNT Sports and saw City romp to victory at Craven Cottage. Josko Gvardiol (13', 71'), Phil Foden (59'), and Julian Alvarez (90+6P') were on the scoresheet.

Crouch wasn't surprised to see Pep Guardiola's men surge to victory and he compared their consistency to Messi and Ronaldo. The iconic duo often battled it out for the Ballon d'Or and the former is the current holder:

"With Manchester City, you just kind of expect it now. It's like when Messi and Ronaldo were picking up the Ballon d’Or constantly. They just get the job done so easily."

Messi, 36, has won the Ballon d'Or a record eight times during his illustrious career. The majority of those wins came at Barcelona where he became a club legend with 672 goals and 303 assists in 778 games.

Meanwhile, Ronaldo, 39, has five Ballons d'Or to his name and is second in the all-time winners' list. He's won the award while at Manchester United and Real Madrid.

City's consistency holds comparisons to the iconic duo as they venture towards a fourth consecutive title. They are the only Premier League team that hasn't lost a game in 2024. They only need to win two more games to be crowned champions for the sixth time under Guardiola.

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Cristiano Ronaldo admitted in 2015 that his rivalry with Lionel Messi motivated him

The duo have had a stranglehold on the Ballon d'Or.

The legendary pair's rivalry peaked around 2015 as they waged war in La Liga. The Portugal captain was wreaking havoc for Real Madrid against his longtime rivals' Barcelona.

The Al-Nassr superstar touched on his rivalry with the Argentina hero when speaking in 2015. He alluded to their Ballon d'Or tug-of-war (via ESPN):

"I'm sure that the competition between us is a motivating factor for him too. It's good for me, for him and for other players who are keen to grow. Messi has four Ballon d'Or awards, I have three. This is all good for the world of football."

Ronaldo can lay claim to becoming the first player in history to win five UEFA Champions League trophies. He's also the greatest goalscorer in club (757 goals in 1009 games) and international (128 in 206 caps) football history.

The legendary duo both left Europe over the past year with the Madrid icon heading to Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League. His 2022 FIFA World Cup-winning rival joined Inter Miami and their rivalry has essentially ended.