As one of the few players to have played alongside both Messi and Ronaldo, the former Gremio midfielder Arthur had the chance to satisfy his curiosity: to find out the differences between the two illustrious stars on the pitch. In an interview with ESPN, Arthur focused on the details, especially their style and position on the pitch.
“I think Cristiano is a player who plays closer to goal. He has an incredible finishing ability, he moves very well to receive passes between the lines, he has a very versatile finishing ability. It is an incredible ability to score goals,” the Brazilian shared.
Along with that, Arthur mentioned Messi, the owner of 8 Ballon d’Or titles. “And Messi can do practically anything. Messi is a player with a very strong creative ability. The way Messi finds teammates is unbelievable. Messi is like an omnipotent person when receiving the ball, dribbling, scoring goals. On the pitch, Messi sees things that only he sees, and no one else sees, especially when making a super pass, “said Arthur, “Of all the players I’ve watched play, they are the two best. And they are definitely the best in history. They are two players that I have been lucky to work with and I have always had a close relationship off the pitch, because they have always helped me. I am truly honored to play with them.
Arthur played alongside Messi from January 2019 to June 2020 at Barcelona. Together they won La Liga 2018/19 and the Spanish Super Cup in the same year. ‘Messi is a super nice guy off the pitch. I think people don’t know much about him, in his personal life, but he’s a really funny guy. Messi is also very simple, he always tries to help everyone, even the youngest players in the team. In some interviews, Messi has also praised his teammates. That’s also very important, because it gives us confidence, makes us feel like we’re really part of the team,’ Arthur declared.
After leaving Barcelona, Arthur moved to Juventus, where he played alongside CR7 between September 2020 and August 2021. Despite being Portuguese, the midfielder revealed that Ronaldo’s playing style was far superior to the Brazilian. “Cristiano really likes Brazilian music. He’s very interested in nutrition, there was a doctor that Ronaldo met who even suggested he go to Brazil. Ronaldo really likes Brazil, he can even speak some Brazilian slang,” Arthur commented.
