Jamie Carragher has had his say on the Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo debate and it could be the best take so far.
Football fans have debated who is the true GOAT between Messi and Ronaldo for over a decade.
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Opinion tends to flip based on recent performances but appearing on the Pure Football Podcast, Liverpool legend Carragher admitted he always saw Messi as the best, with a caveat.
"Messi, I've never changed that," he begun. "I think I'm with the majority on that.
"I think I have possibly more respect for Ronaldo and the reason I say that is because he has got unbelievable talent but his mentality, his focus, his work rate has made him what he is, or get him to where he is, has taken him to another level.
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"Whenever you think he's finished or Messi's done something amazing, he comes back with something again and again and again.
"And it must have been tough for him at times. Even when he was at late stages at United, early days at Madrid where no matter what he did, people would say Messi, Messi, Messi. I think now it's a bit more even.
"But I think with all those Ballon d'Ors Messi was winning, even when Ronaldo was playing out of his skin. But he still came back for more and that's what I respect so much."
While Carragher appreciates the talent both men have, he believes six-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi has a more unique talent.
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"What I would say is Ronaldo does things that other players can do but he does them more often," the Sky Sports pundit added. "He scores more goals but I think Messi does things that other players can't do.
"So you see Ronaldo score a great goal and you think, 'Okay, well I've seen that before.'
"Ronaldo does it so often but Messi, the way he dribbles and runs with the ball, you very rarely see that in football now.
"I mean most teams don't even have a dribbler in the team anymore now. You don't see anyone run with the ball so... he does things that professional footballers are open-mouthed with, that's the best way to describe it.
"It's not just supporters, it's top players thinking, 'I can't believe that. I can't believe he's done that.'
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"And that spell with Pep going into Luis Enrique, that era of like seven/eight years when Barcelona were just off the scale, what Messi was doing.
"That's what I'd always go for Messi because he does things that other players can't and leave them open-mouthed."
Featured Image Credit: PA Images & Pure Football Podcast/TwitterTopics: Football News, Football, Lionel Messi, Jamie Carragher, Cristiano Ronaldo
