Former Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) midfielder Pablo Sarabia picked Cristiano Ronaldo over Lionel Messi in the age-old debate of the footballing GOAT. In May this year, the Wolverhampton Wanderers player revealed his preference between the two football greats.
Sarabia’s opinion has some weight behind it considering he played with both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese superstar was playing for Real Madrid while Sarabia was in Los Blancos’ youth system. He had the pleasure of training alongside Lionel Messi in France during the Argentinian’s spell with PSG.
The Spain international, who made his Real Madrid debut by replacing Cristiano Ronaldo from the bench, said in an interview with talkSPORT that the Al-Nassr star’s mindset set him apart.
“It’s amazing because it’s a dream to play with these players. [Messi or Ronaldo] is a very difficult question. For me, Ronaldo is the best player in the world. It’s Cristiano, because his mindset is totally incredible,” Sarabia said (via GiveMeSport).
The attack-minded midfielder, who was not selected in Spain’s 2024 Euro-winning squad, currently plays for Premier League side Wolves.
Lionel Messi is supernatural; Cristiano Ronaldo is pure willpower – Sarabia
The 32-year-old spoke about how much he learnt from both players by simply being on the same pitch.
“I learned a lot because when you’re training with these [level of] team-mates, it’s incredible. The goals, the assists, it’s very important to try to learn in this moment and in training every day,” said Sarabia.
The Madrid-born midfielder rose through the ranks at 15-time European champions and made his debut for the club in 2010, replacing Cristiano Ronaldo in a UEFA Champions League group match against Auxerre.
“Debuting was incredible… Cristiano and the entire coaching staff wished me good luck. When I took the pitch it was like any other match,” the Real Madrid website quoted him as saying after his debut (via GiveMeSport).
On Ronaldo, Sarabia said that the work he put in daily to be the best had led him to where he was now.
“Physically, he is incredible because it seems that every day he is striving to be the best. That is an incredible quality. One that has led him to where he is now. Without that characteristic, [Ronaldo] would not be there for sure,” he said.
The Spain international called Lionel Messi “supernatural” and said it was thrilling to work with a player he undoubtedly admired.
“With Messi, everyone knows his capacity – the ability to score, to find the solution. Yes, it is true that Leo is supernatural, because he has pure skill from another planet, but Cristiano is an example of pure willpower,” he added.
The playmaker joined Wolves in January 2023, and has since established himself as a key player in Gary O’Neil’s side.
