Dutch Great Sneijder Explains How His Love for Life Prevented Him From Reaching the Heights of Messi & Ronaldo

Dutch Great Sneijder Explains How His Love for Life Prevented Him From Reaching the Heights of Messi & Ronaldo

Godwin Nii Armah Tagoe
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:04 PM
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  • Dutch playmaker Wesley Sneijder reckons his love for life prevented him from having the same career as Ronaldo and Messi
  • The watershed moment in his career came in the 2009-10 season, spearheading Mourinho's Inter Milan to win the Serie A, the Coppa Italia and the Champions League
  • Sneijder also won the Eredivisie, La Liga and Super Lig titles with Ajax, Real Madrid and Galatasaray respectively, and won the Silver Boot and Bronze Ball awards at the 2010 World Cup

Ex-Netherlands midfielder Wesley Sneijder believes he could have reached the same level as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

The Inter Milan legend, who played a key role in Inter Milan's treble-winning campaign in 2010, confessed he could have mirrored the aforementioned duo but his preference to enjoy living his life derailed that prospect.

In a glittering career which saw him feature for some of Europe's top clubs, the former Dutch attacking midfielder narrowly missed out on the Ballon d'Or to Barcelona trio Xavi, Iniesta and Lionel Messi, who eventually won the coveted diadem.

Dutch, Great, Sneijder, Love, Life, Prevent, Reach, Heights, Messi, Ballon d'Or, 2010 World Cup, Inter Milan, Ronaldo
Wesley Sneijder claims he could have become like Messi and Ronaldo but did not feel like going the extra mile. Photo credit: @goal @OnsOranje
Source: Twitter

Sneijder finished fourth in the rankings after leading Jose Mourinho's Nerazurris to a historic treble before scoring five vital goals during the Netherland's run to the World Cup final that summer.

Reflecting on his career, Sneijder argued he could have been as good as Ronaldo or Messi but he "simply didn't feel like it."

"I could have become like Messi or Ronaldo. I simply didn't feel like it," he told Gianluca di Marzio as quoted by Sports Bible.
He continued: "I enjoyed my life, maybe I had a glass [of wine] at dinner. Leo and Cristiano are different, they have made many sacrifices.
"And that's fine with me, my career, however, was still amazing."

Ronaldo leads Messi and Pele on the list of 20 highest international goalscorers

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that Cristiano Ronaldo has for many years established himself as one of the most prolific scorers in the history of soccer as the Manchester United forward is currently the leading scorer in international football.

Gone are the days when Cristiano Ronaldo used to play football on the streets in Portugal when he was young, but today, the 37-year-old is a proud winner of 5 Ballon d'Or awards.

Only Lionel Messi on 7 has won more Ballon d'Or awards than Cristiano Ronaldo and these two footballers have been rivals for more than ten years.

Authors
Godwin Nii Armah Tagoe photo
Godwin Nii Armah Tagoe
Godwin Nii Armah Tagoe is a Ligue 1, Bundesliga, and La Liga editor with five-year experience. He previously worked with Sports Corna and 360SportsGH.
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