Robert Lewandowski is known for being a player who speaks his mind, paying little attention to what the rest may think. He already made big headlines with his comments on Lionel Messi after the 2021 Ballon d'Or ceremony, and his words have made noise again recently.
The Bayern Munich superstar, who despite the Ballon d'Or frustration suggested that winning FIFA's The Best award is more satisfying for him, has recently weighed in on the PSG winger and Cristiano Ronaldo.
For obvious reasons, Messi and Ronaldo have often been compared in the last decade, mainly due to their talent and achievements. But now that they're reaching the final stages of their careers, the comparisons lay around their longevity, and the Pole striker shared his opinion.
Lewandowski suggests Messi won't finish his career at such a high level as Ronaldo
Lewandowski sat down with Pole outlet Pilka Nozna to discuss a number of topics, including the last Ballon d'Or results and the future of his career. He also spoke about Messi again, this time he compared his departure from Barcelona to Cristiano Ronaldo's return to Manchester United.
"For Messi, moving to another club was certainly a much more overwhelming experience," Lewandowski said, as quoted by As in Spanish. "He had never played in other country than Spain, he has never spoken another language. He found himself with a communication barrier. Cristiano has changed of clubs and leagues several times before. The age at which you change teams is not important, the different circumstances are decisive."
Lewandowski has also spoken about Cristiano's current performances, claiming that Messi - who is two years younger - will find it more difficult to perform like the Portuguese star does at 36 years old.
"Cristiano is three years and a half older than me and he still scores a lot. But the club changed, the tactics changed, his team is not always successful. When his team recovers balance, he can score goals again. He used to record great numbers, impossible numbers, today they are ‘just’ very good numbers. He probably won’t score 60 goals in a year anymore, but with 30 or 40 he still makes the difference. The expectations around him are quite different. And Messi is a different kind of player. At Cristiano’s age it will be more difficult for him to keep up his goal-scoring tally."
