Ryan Giggs has claimed that former Manchester United team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo is ‘obsessed’ with Lionel Messi.
Ronaldo called time on his Real Madrid career this week when his £100million move to Juventus was confirmed, less than two months after he won the Champions League for the fourth time in five years.
Giggs, who played alongside Ronaldo for the duration of the Portuguese’s six-year stint at Old Trafford, believes the 33-year-old’s latest career move may have been motivated by his desire to prove himself better than Barcelona ace Messi.
‘I’m surprised that he would leave Real Madrid and go to Italy,’ Giggs told ITV Sport. ‘I think it’s a big challenge for him but he’s going to a huge club. Having that on your CV… Real Madrid, Man United and Juventus. It’s some CV.
‘He’s obsessed with being better than Messi. He has that now that “I did it in England, I did it in Spain, I’m going to do it in Italy… and I did it with Portugal.”
‘So maybe that will be his argument when people ask: “Is Ronaldo better than Messi?”‘
Ronaldo leaves Real after scoring 450 goals in nine years, at a rate of just over one per game.
He won two La Liga titles, two Copa del Reys and four Champions Leagues.
Prior to joining Real, Ronaldo won a hat-trick of Premier League crowns with United, as well as one FA Cup and the 2007-08 Champions League.
Messi, 31, has spent his entire club career at Barcelona, winning La Liga nine times, the Copa del Rey on six occasions and four Champions Leagues.
As Giggs alludes to, Ronaldo has the edge on Messi when it comes to international football. Ronaldo lifted the European Championship with Portugal in 2016, while Messi has never won a trophy with Argentina.