“When I came to Madrid, I thought I was Messi and Ronaldo in one body” - When Real Madrid superstar opened up on ‘dumb’ delusion

Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde opened up about when he first received an offer from Los Blancos and thought himself to be as good as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. The Uruguay international stated that reality hit him a few months after he signed for the La Liga giants.

Valverde joined Real Madrid from Penarol in 2016 and initially played for the reserve team. Later in 2017, the central midfielder was loaned out to Deportivo de La Coruña for one season.

Valverde spoke about how he felt he was as good as Ronaldo and Messi after joining Los Blancos.

"I can tell you the exact moment when I realized that I was a punk. Listen, you have to understand something. Really imagine that you are me for a second. You are 17 years old. Two years ago, you were sleeping in the sandwich bed on the floor. Now you’re signing for Real Madrid?" he said (via The Players' Tribune).

"Man, how can you not become delusional? When I came to Madrid, I thought that I was Messi and Cristiano in one body. Hahahah! Seriously!," the 25-year-old continued.

Explaining his situation back then, Valverde added:

"In my defense, when you are 17, you have no clue how dumb you really are, especially if they give you a little bit of money and praise. That combination is a hell of a drug."

Since making his first-team debut in 2018, Fede Valverde has scored 21 goals and provided 23 assists in 258 games across competitions for Real Madrid.

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Former Real Madrid manager comments on the Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi debate

Former Real Madrid manager Fabio Capello shared his opinion on the Cristiano Ronaldo versus Lionel Messi debate.

The Italian manager described Ronaldo as an excellent player, but not a genius as compared to his Argentine rival. Capello, who coached Los Blancos from 1996 to 1997 and again in the 2006–07 season, said (via Forbes):

"Cristiano is a great player, a great goalscorer, he won titles and the Ballon d'Or, but he hasn't been great like Messi. He's a great footballer, but he's not a genius."