Following Rodri’s 2024 Ballon d’Or win, fans reminisced about the era when Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo dominated the award and the global soccer scene. Just a day after the ceremony, Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola shared his perspective, delivering a pointed message about Messi’s legacy in comparison to Ronaldo.
In a press conference ahead of Manchester City’s clash with Tottenham Hotspur, Guardiola responded to a question about the Ballon d’Or by celebrating Spanish soccer’s achievements. During his remarks, he didn’t hold back in expressing how Messi eclipsed Ronaldo.
“Xavi and (Andres) Iniesta could not win because he (Messi) was a monster, nobody could beat him. Just Cristiano (Ronaldo); Cristiano was a monster and the father of the monster is Messi. And both have done something incredible in the last 15, 20 years. Maybe in that moment Xavi and Iniesta deserved it as well,” said Guardiola in the press conference.
Guardiola also highlighted how, despite winning the 2010 World Cup, Spanish icons like Xavi and Iniesta couldn’t clinch the award over a transcendent Messi. He later noted Rodri‘s achievement, becoming the first ever Spanish player to ever win the award since Luis Suarez in 1960. “I think Rodri yesterday got what the Spanish soccer deserved worldwide” the coach said.
(L-R) Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid, Andres Iniesta of Barcelona and Lionel Messi of Barcelona attend the Press Conference with nominees for World Player of the Year and World Coach of the Year for Men’s Football on January 7, 2013 at Congress House in Zurich, Switzerland.
Guardiola addressed the Messi-Ronaldo debate once again
Given his history with FC Barcelona from 2008 to 2012, Guardiola will have a biased opinion towards the Messi-Ronaldo debate. During that time, the Spanish was able to coach the Argentine, having witnessed Messi’s record-breaking 91 goals in 69 games during 2012, a milestone that is far from reaching.
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Guardiola named several times Messi as the greatest soccer player ever, but also acknowledge Ronaldo competing head-to-head with him. In this case, naming the Argentine as “the father of the monster“, he shocked both fans and media alike.
Messi and Ronaldo’s 15-year reign
Guardiola’s comments were on point regarding the undeniable reality of Messi and Ronaldo’s impact. From 2008 to 2023, Messi claimed eight Ballon d’Or titles to Ronaldo’s six, with only Luka Modric in 2018 and Karim Benzema in 2022 breaking their 15-year stronghold on the award.
