Inter Miami have dominated the headlines in Major League Soccer for the past year and a half. This surge in attention is almost entirely due to Lionel Messi, who, since his arrival at the club in July 2023, has become not only the Herons’ most prominent figure but also the league’s top star. In this context, one of the team’s players offered a strong endorsement of Cristiano Ronaldo.
In an interview with Goal USA, Fafa Picault participated in a rapid-fire Q&A session where he was asked to assess Ronaldo’s attributes and rate them on a scale of 1 to 100. While many of the questions focused on Cristiano’s technical abilities, others ventured into more subjective areas, leading to an unexpected response from the Inter Miami forward.
“Speed? 90,” Picault began, continuing with the same score for Ronaldo’s strength. On dribbling ability, he awarded the Portuguese forward a score of 96, while he rated CR7’s finishing at 99. When asked about Cristiano’s ability to perform in clutch moments, Fafa also gave him a 99, and then awarded a perfect score of 100 for his “aura.”
The final question was the most open-ended, as the interviewer simply asked: “Legacy.” Without hesitation, Fafa Picault’s response was “Goated.” Despite being a teammate of Messi, widely regarded as the greatest player of all time, the forward chose to describe Ronaldo in this way, a response that surely surprised many.
Who is Fafa Picault?
Fafa Picault is one of the new additions to Inter Miami’s roster this offseason, brought in to help strengthen the team for the demanding 2025 season, which will see the Herons competing in multiple high-profile tournaments, including Major League Soccer and the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
Born in New York in 1991, Picault has Haitian heritage, which led him to represent the Haitian national team and earn 14 caps during the last two years. At the club level, he began his professional career in the now-defunct North American Soccer League (NASL) before moving to Europe, where he played for Sparta Prague in the Czech Republic and FC St. Pauli in Germany.
Before joining Inter Miami, Picault gained extensive experience in Major League Soccer, having played for the Philadelphia Union, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo, Nashville SC, and Vancouver Whitecaps FC. In his most recent season with the Canadian side, he scored 10 goals in 40 appearances.
Other Inter Miami players address the GOAT debate
Fafa Picault is not the first Inter Miami player to share his thoughts on the GOAT debate, although his response stands in stark contrast to that of his teammates. “There’s a reason Messi is the best in the world, and he shows it in every game. He always surprises us with something beautiful,” said Luis Suarez in 2017, when he and Lionel played together at Barcelona.
“I have played with many great players throughout my career, but everyone knows that Lionel Messi is the best player of all time. It has never been easier to play with anyone,” said Robert Taylor in an interview with MTV Uutiset in 2023. More recently, Federico Redondo backed up that sentiment during an interview with La Nacion, emphasizing Messi’s relentless drive to continue winning: “That’s the great quality that makes him the best player in history.”