The authorship of a phrase involving Ronaldo Nazário and Lionel Messi, which appeared during the World Cup, gained prominence again. In a conversation with former player Romário, Ronaldo stated that he never declared that the Argentine is the greatest athlete in the history of the sport.
The matter came to light when Romário directly asked his friend about the great repercussion of an alleged quote attributed to him by a Spanish news portal.
“What the f**k is Messi the best in history?” asked Romário directly.
Ronaldo then clarified that his surprise at the circulation of these statements in the media and on digital platforms was as great as that of the general public.
“I wasn’t understanding the situation. We contacted press professionals to find out the origin of the information. It was a report that the Barcelona-based newspaper Mundo Deportivo created and published as if it contained my own statements”, explained the Phenomenon.
Training records of the Brazilian team in New Jersey
The controversy gained intensity during the World Cup, in a period of great prominence for Messi in the tournament. At that time, several publications replicated an alleged interview with the Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo, where the Brazilian athlete supposedly declared that the Argentine was the best player of all time.
Among the phrases supposedly uttered by Ronaldo, there was one that indicated that “it was time for the world to stop hiding and recognize that Messi is the best player of all time.”
Shortly after the dissemination of this information, the former striker’s communications team issued an official statement denying the interview and clarifying that Ronaldo had never had contact with the aforementioned Spanish publication.
Even though he refused to author the speeches, the two-time world champion from 1994 and 2002 always showed great appreciation for Messi. Upon seeing him reach new milestones in the historic World Cup goalscoring record, Ronaldo sent a message of congratulations to Argentina’s number 10.
“If there is someone who deserves to achieve and hold the title of top scorer in all World Cups, I believe Messi is the ideal person to do it,” declared the player.