Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi? There is perhaps no question in modern day football that can spark a bigger debate than this one. It only makes sense to pose the question to sporting legend Usain Bolt, who had a bit of a football experience after retiring from sprinting. The eight-time Olympic gold medalist Bolt was recently questioned the same by Fifa.com. In his reply, the Jamaican made his pick crystal clear.
On being questioned who has had the best football career among the two, Bolt said: “Both! Many people are asking this question, but they are two geniuses of football. I have always been a big fan of Ronaldo. I admire his ability to succeed in different championships: England, Spain and now Italy.”
He was later asked who would he be rooting for in the upcoming FIFA Best Awards among Messi, Ronaldo and Liverpool’s Virgil Van Dijk. In his reply, Bolt said: “These are three wonderful players. Ronaldo and Messi won the prize five times each. For his part, Van Dijk has just won the UEFA prize and in view of his performances in Liverpool last season, his time may have come. But as a supporter of Manchester United, I would surely vote for Ronaldo!”
Bolt further included Ronaldo in his dream team of footballers for teaming up in a 4x100m relay event. “Ronaldo, Mbappé and Gareth Bale,” Bolt said.
When he asked whom he sees as the future stars to replace Ronaldo and Messi, Bolt said: “There are a lot of very promising young players: Mbappé, Neymar, Jadon Sancho … I can not wait to see what the Ajax alumni, Mattthijs de Ligt and Frenkie de Jong, are going to do in their new clubs. There is also Eden Hazard at Real Madrid. I’m friends with Raheem Sterling, Paul Pogba and Leon Bailey, so I hope they’ll continue to play well in the future.”
