WHAT HAPPENED? Former Chelsea star John Obi Mikel has explained why he clearly sees Lionel Messi (Inter Miami) ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo (Al-Nassr).
WHAT WAS SAID? On former England international Rio Ferdinand’s YouTube channel FIVE, Mikel said: “When we played against United – when Cristiano was there – we knew Ash (Ashley Cole, editor) would have him under control. We We knew he could do it. But every time we played against Barcelona, the entire training week beforehand was about Messi.”
Chelsea always knew that two or three players would have to take care of the Argentine. “You can’t defend Messi one-on-one, that’s impossible. You’re dead,” emphasized Mikel, who played for Chelsea from 2006 to 2017.
The plan in the games against Messi was simply to “kick him,” said Mikel. “You can’t get close enough to him to take the ball from him. When you think you have it, the next moment it’s gone.” Constant tackling was therefore “the only way” to “stop him”.
WHAT IS THE BACKGROUND? With all due respect for Ronaldo’s achievements, the now 36-year-old Nigerian emphasized: “I know that there is a comparison (between Messi and CR7, editor). But because I played against both of them: I wouldn’t say “It’s a world of difference because Cristiano has of course also achieved great things. But I don’t really see a comparison. Messi is just from another planet. He’s so incredibly good.”
THE PICTURES FOR THE NEWS:
A LOOK AT THE NUMBERS: Mikel played a total of seven competitive games against Messi in his career, three of them with Chelsea against Barça.
Mikel himself had a few more positions after his time at the Blues before ending his career in September 2022.
2023-11-17 22:38:37
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