"That was kind of mind blowing" - When Cristiano Ronaldo's former teammate named Lionel Messi as the best in the world

Back in 2020, Cristiano Ronaldo's former teammate Jadon Sancho named Lionel Messi as the best player in the world. At the time, the winger was shining at Borussia Dortmund, and later moved to Old Trafford to play alongside Ronaldo in 2021.

Sancho had a tell-all interview with Soccer Bible, where he spoke about his rise in football and his time in Germany. The winger was asked if he ever got starstruck by any player, and he admitted that Lionel Messi, Neymar Jr, and Kylian Mbappe made him feel that way. Sancho explained:

"Yeah, Messi, Mbappe, Neymar. Those three. That was kind of mind blowing. Mbappe’s near me in age, but what he’s done, you have to respect it. Won the World Cup at such a young age, carried the team… hats off to him. That’s a great player right there.

"And obviously Neymar, I look up to him. I see me as him. I relate to what he does on the pitch. And then Messi just speaks for itself. Best player in the world."

Notably, Jadon Sancho did not mention Cristiano Ronaldo during the interview. When asked to pick a five-a-side street football team, he picked all Brazilian players, further admitting how he looked up to players like Neymar and Ronaldinho.

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Jadon Sancho hails Cristiano Ronaldo as "inspirational" despite referring to Lionel Messi as "the best player in the world"

Jadon Sancho hailed Cristiano Ronaldo's mentality as "inspirational", despite calling Lionel Messi the best player in the world during his tell-all interview. The former Borussia Dortmund winger notably joined the Red Devils and played 37 games alongside the Portugal legend at Manchester United.

Ronaldo left Old Trafford by November 2022 on a free transfer, before joining Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia in January 2023. The Chelsea attacker recently told Sky Sports (via GOAL):

"I've played with a lot of great players but, if I had to choose one, it was Cristiano Ronaldo. What he talks about in his interviews is all true, to play with him was a real honour. His mentality, how he trained and how he went into games was really inspirational."

Sancho and Ronaldo have both endured torrid periods at Old Trafford. The duo clashed with former manager Erik ten Hag, which saw Ronaldo agree to a mutual contract termination, while Sancho was frozen out of the first team.

Cristiano Ronaldo now plays in Saudi Arabia, while Jadon Sancho is on loan at Chelsea. Lionel Messi, meanwhile, plays for Inter Miami in the USA.