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Manchester United loanee Antony recently picked qualities from Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo when asked to build his perfect footballer. The Brazilian selected the Argentine superstar for his left foot and chose the Portuguese icon for his mentality.
In a recent interview with ESPN, Antony, who is on loan at Real Betis, was asked to build his perfect footballer based on certain parameters. He chose Messi and Neymar for the players' left and right foot, respectively. For mentality, he went for Ronaldo while Kylian Mbappe was named for speed.
Antony then mentioned Fulham's Adama Traore, himself, Karim Benzema, and Sergio Ramos for strength, dribbling, shooting, and heading in that order.
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Lionel Messi is one of football's most prolific left-footed players. The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner has recorded over 1000 career goals and assists, most of which have been off his deadly left foot.
Cristiano Ronaldo, meanwhile, has a reputation for having an elite mentality. The Al-Nassr star has shown relentless work ethic, professionalism, and a constant drive to improve throughout his illustrious career. At 40, the Portuguese icon continues to play and perform at the highest levels.
When Antony named Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar as his idols
Brazilian winger Antony once named Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar as his football idols. During an interview in 2024, he claimed that he always watched Ronaldo and was fond of Messi and Neymar.
"I always watched Cristiano Ronaldo. He played a lot on the wing here. I’ve always really liked (Lionel) Messi as well, and Neymar, they are the three players I always followed," Antony said (via Tribuna).
Antony began his career playing for his hometown club Sao Paulo. In 2020, he moved to Europe with Ajax, where he helped the Dutch club to two league titles. Following his outstanding performance in the Eredivisie, Manchester United shelled out £82 million to secure his services at Old Trafford.
With the Red Devils, he played alongside Cristiano Ronaldo on seven occasions. However, the Brazilian failed to live up to expectations and struggled to hit top form. He has recorded just 12 goals and five assists in 96 matches for the Manchester club.
Antony joined Real Betis on loan in January 2025 and has been impressive for the LaLiga side. So far, he has contributed four goals and four assists in 12 appearances across competitions.
