Tennis player Carlos Alcaraz ranked Cristiano Ronaldo at the top of his list of the top 5 best players of all time, but did not mention Lionel Messi in this group.
In an interview with Spanish newspaper AS this week, world number three Carlos Alcaraz ranked Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos, Luka Modric, Ronaldinho and Neymar among the five best players in history.
“I have watched Ronaldo, Ramos and Modric play many times. However, Ronaldinho, I only watched videos and heard about him. Ronaldinho and Neymar are both outstanding players,” Alcaraz explained about the top 5 best football players of all time in his eyes.
The video was later posted on social media by AS newspaper, causing Alcaraz to receive a lot of criticism. Many fans said that the 21-year-old tennis player lacked football knowledge, so he “forgot” Lionel Messi in the list. “It’s ridiculous, there’s Ronaldo but no Messi?”, one fan asked in the comment section below the video.
Some people defended Alcaraz, saying that he only focuses on playing tennis and does not have much knowledge of football. “Apart from Messi, Alcaraz did not mention Pele or Maradona. It is clear that the boy is not a real football lover. He has heard more about Cristiano Ronaldo, perhaps because of geography,” a fan commented.
Alcaraz is known to be a loyal fan of Real, where Ronaldo reached the peak of his career. This is probably the main reason why he ignored Messi, the symbol of rival team Barca. However, this tennis player still chose two Brazilian superstars who played for Barca, Ronaldinho and Neymar, in the top 5 greatest players.
Alcaraz suffered an early exit from the Miami Open last week and is looking ahead to the clay season. He has also been preoccupied with off-court issues during the transition period. The world number three has said he will not support the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) in its lawsuit against the ATP Tour.
“I saw my name cited in some PTPA documents and was surprised by that,” Alcaraz told ESPN when asked about his involvement in the PTPA’s lawsuit against the ATP for corruption and monopoly. According to Alcaraz, no one at the PTPA told him about the lawsuit.
The Spaniard is cited in several hundred-page documents filed by the PTPA in courts in the US, UK and the European Union, in which the organization claims that the majority of the world’s top 20 players support the lawsuit. However, the petition’s signatories are all outside of that group, with PTPA co-founder Novak Djokovic not even signing.
“There are some things I agree with in the PTPA, and some things I don’t,” Alcaraz added. “Most importantly, I don’t support their lawsuit. That’s all.”
The PTPA has taken the case to court with the intention of forcing the ATP, WTA and ITF to make comprehensive reforms in matters related to tournament schedules, tournament and player rankings, prize money and image rights. According to the PTPA, the tennis organizations are imposing monopolies, tying players to their systems and paying them disproportionately to the centrality of the players.
In response, the ATP and WTA denied all allegations, saying that the PTPA’s lawsuit was baseless. “We have a long-term commitment to the development of tennis,” said an ATP spokesperson. “Maintaining the integrity and stability of the sport is of utmost importance. The PTPA, on the other hand, has always wanted to divide the tennis family. They are still struggling to find a foothold after 5 years of establishment.”
