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Former Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) midfielder Pablo Sarabia recently stated he would pick Cristiano Ronaldo over Lionel Messi and Neymar due to the former's mindset.
Sarabia came up through the Real Madrid academy during his youth career. He made just one appearance for the senior team during the 2010-11 season but was able to train and play alongside Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Wolverhampton Wanderers star also plied his trade for PSG for four seasons between 2019 and 2023 where he found success with the likes of Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Kylian Mbappe. The 31-year-old netted 22 goals and provided 12 assists in 98 appearances across all competitions, helping Les Parisiens win nine trophies.
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Sarabia spoke to talkSPORT, explaining what it was like to play with some of football's greatest-ever icons (via GOAL):
“It's amazing because it's a dream to play with these players. I learned a lot because when you're training with these team-mates, these players, it's incredible. The goals, the assists, it's very important to try to learn in this moment and in training every day. They're amazing players. Outside the pitch these are very good people and because of this it's a reference for me and I want to translate [that] to my son also.”
The Spaniard was also asked to rank Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Neymar. Despite finding more success with the latter two, he responded:
“It's a very difficult question. It's Cristiano because his mindset is totally incredible. It's very hard. Neymar, his ability to be different than the other players, it's possible to do everything, I've never seen anything like it. He has a lot of quality with the ball, it's incredible. With Messi, everyone knows his capacity, the ability to score, to find the solution.”
Sarabia currently plays for Wolves in the Premier League. He has netted one goal and registered six assists in 12 appearances to date.
Cristiano Ronaldo snubbed in list of 100 Best Players in the World, while Lionel Messi fails to finish in the Top 5
Cristiano Ronaldo has failed to make a recent list of the 100 best players in the world, while Lionel Messi has been ranked in sixth place (as per SPORTbible).
The rankings are released yearly by popular football magazine FourFourTwo. Despite making the top five last year, Lionel Messi has been ranked sixth behind Rodri, Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, and Erling Haaland this year.
The Argentine's high ranking is due to his form for PSG where he helped them win the Ligue 1 title. He also made the move to MLS club Inter Miami over the summer, aiding the Herons in winning the Leagues Cup.
Cristiano Ronaldo's exclusion comes as a massive surprise. While the five-time Ballon d'Or winner is no longer playing at the highest level, he has still scored 50 goals in 2023, just two behind Harry Kane.
The 38-year-old has also netted 20 goals and provided 10 assists in 22 appearances for Al-Nassr this season and has had a better campaign than Karim Benzema, who has been ranked 96th on the list.
