“One of those players who will show you his character”, “Just magnificent to watch” – William Gallas offers assessment of facing Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi

Former Arsenal star William Gallas shared his assessment of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

He said that he views Messi and Ronaldo at the same level because of what the legendary duo has done over the last decade. The Frenchman told Genting Casino:

"I [view] Messi and Ronaldo on the same level because what they have done in the past 10 years has been incredible. They put the level very, very high so that’s why almost nobody has been able to catch them.

"I like them both. I like the mentality of Ronaldo, every season he’s a player who pushes himself to be perfect, he’s one of those players who will show you his character."

Gallas further spoke about Lionel Messi as he said that the Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) superstar is just magnificent to watch:

"With Lionel Messi, what I like about him is he’s one of those players who doesn’t speak on the pitch, he’s just magnificent to watch.

"How he plays the game and his movement. I had the opportunity to play both players, they were young at that time when I played against them, but you could see they had the quality to become the best players in the world."

William Gallas shared his experience of facing Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

William Gallas faced both Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo during his career. He faced Ronaldo several times as they were direct rivals in the Premier League. Speaking about the current Manchester United superstar, Gallas said:

"I played against Ronaldo many times, against Manchester United many times and against him. And with the national team I played only once against him.

"With Ronaldo it was more the players who are going to come at you and try everything to get past you, to show you how good they are. And physically he was strong, and I knew it would not be easy to defend against him."

He didn't face Messi as much. They clashed only two or three times. However, Gallas said that the Argentine was injured in their first meeting:

"With Messi, I only had two to three chances to play against him but he was not really in my area. The first time I played against him, he got injured."