Brazil legend Romario believes he is on the same level as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. The legendary forward sees himself as one of the greatest football players in history, claiming that only two players were better than him.
Speaking in an interview with Catenaccio e Contropiede (via Daily Mail), Romario ranked himself alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Both players have arguably been the biggest in recent decades, with 13 Ballon d’Or titles between them.
Romario also claimed that he was better than current stars like World Cup winner Kylian Mbappe, Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland and Barcelona legend Luis Suarez.
The 58-year-old discussed other players, revealing that he had been on the same level as Ronaldinho. He also placed himself over several Brazil legends, including Rivaldo, Neymar, Adriano, Bebeto and Zico.
When asked if Diego Maradona and Pele were better than him, he agreed, stating (via Daily Mail):
“My opinion is this.”
During his career, Romario scored 55 goals in 70 games for Brazil and guided them to 1994 World Cup glory, getting named the best player of the tournament. He had successful times at Barcelona and PSV Eindhoven, winning La Liga and several Dutch titles and cups.
Across his club career, he scored a total of 213 goals and provided 35 assists across 284 games, an astonishing 0.87 goal contributions per game.
Pep Guardiola backs Erling Haaland to beat Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo’s records
Pep Guardiola said that his Manchester City super striker can exceed the Champions League goal records held by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The Norwegian sharpshooter had a miraculous debut season at Manchester City, scoring 52 goals in 53 matches.
This season, Haaland has netted just 21 goals. This is hardly a problematic number, but based on his goalscoring quality, more goals have been expected from the 23-year-old. City manager Guardiola addressed Haaland’s recent lack of goals, speaking ahead of their UEFA Champions League match against Copenhagen.
The manager said (via TalkSport):
“It looks like I am complaining about Erling but it was in general. If he doesn’t score tomorrow, the day after or next week, it’s not a big issue. He’s so strong. It comes from nature. He’s coped perfectly because he’s so strong mentally. He scores one goal and wants a second and a third.”
Guardiola added:
“You see his numbers. At his age, in the Champions League, not even [Lionel] Messi or Cristiano [Ronaldo] had these numbers at his age.”
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have set high bars in the Champions League, with 140 and 129 goals, respectively. Haaland currently has 40 goals in the continental competition and is widely seen as capable of surpassing the legendary duo.
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