In a press conference before the match between Man City and Tottenham in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup, coach Pep Guardiola made a comparison implying that Lionel Messi’s level is far superior to Cristiano Ronaldo. This is something he rarely did in the past.

Lionel Messi is the player who has won the most Ballon d’Or awards in history (8 times), while Ronaldo is second (5 times). Ronaldo has been considered Messi’s biggest rival for many years and has created a fierce debate about who is the best player in history. This will only end when the Argentine star wins the 2022 World Cup and both leave Europe.

Commenting on the controversy surrounding Rodri’s 2024 Ballon d’Or award, Pep Guardiola unexpectedly mentioned Messi and compared him to Ronaldo. The Spanish coach praised Ronaldo, but then he elevated his former student at Barcelona.

Pep Guardiola said: “In 2011, there were three Barcelona players leading the Ballon d’Or list. Xavi and Iniesta could not win because there was a monster there. That was Messi.”

“Nobody can beat Messi. Only Ronaldo can beat Messi. Ronaldo is a monster, but the monster’s father is Messi. Both have done unbelievable things in the last 15, 20 years. In that period, maybe Xavi, Iniesta also deserved to win the Ballon d’Or like Rodri now.”

In addition, Pep Guardiola refused to comment on Real Madrid boycotting the Ballon d’Or award ceremony after learning that Vinicius finished second. According to him, this is normal. However, the Spanish coach emphasized that Erling Haaland had a more “unfair” failure at the 2023 Ballon d’Or but was still happy to attend the award ceremony.