Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo: Patrice Evra Makes Interesting Ballon d’Or Claim in Settling GOAT Debate

• Lionel Messi has won seven Ballon d'Or awards so far and is the front-runner to clinch a record-extending eighth crown in 2023
• Patrice Evra believes the PSG frontman could have had many of the coveted individual awards if he had Cristiano Ronaldo's trait
• Evra and Ronaldo enjoyed three and a half successful seasons as teammates during their stint at Manchester United

Lionel Messi should have won 15 Ballon d'Or awards, according to former Manchester United defender Patrice Evra.

The forthright ex-footballer turned pundit claimed Leo Messi could have had more Ballon d'Or prizes if he had the same work ethic as Cristiano Ronaldo.

The almost two-decade Messi-Ronaldo rivalry continues dividing opinions among football fans and pundits despite Leo Messi inspiring Argentina to a third World Cup in Qatar 2022, per Hindustan Times.

Evra reckons that Cristiano Ronaldo should be considered the greater among the two in the GOAT debate.

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"I want to explain why I say Ronaldo every time. It's not because he's our brother. It's because I'm in love with his work ethic" He said as quoted by GOAL.

"I feel like Messi, God just gave him a talent, and Cristiano had to work for it. He had the talent, but he had to work for it.

The 41-year-old argued Messi would have won the Ballon d'Or 15 times if he possessed the work ethic of his rival.

"If Messi had the same work ethic as Ronaldo, he would probably have like 15 Ballon d'Ors today. I'm just in love with people working hard, so I pick Ronaldo over Messi."

Bayern star aims dig at Messi

Thomas Muller has taken a cheeky dig at Lionel Messi after Bayern Munich eliminated Paris Saint-Germain from the Champions League, admitting that Cristiano Ronaldo has always been a threat to the German giants.

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Football

On Wednesday night, Muller captained Bayern to beat Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League encounter at the Allianz Arena.

In his post-match presser, Muller appeared to mock Messi's unproductive display, admitting that Bayern always struggled against Ronaldo during his time with Real Madrid.

Eminem settles Ronaldo vs Messi debate

Buttressing Evra's points, multiple award-winning American rapper Marshall Bruce Mathers III, known by his stage name Eminem, has revealed his stance on the GOAT debate, Sports Brief previously reported.

Eminem touted as one of the greatest rappers of all time, jumped into the never-ending argument of who the greater footballer is between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

The "Love the Way You Lie" hitmaker settled the GOAT debate with an interesting analogy, where he argued Ronaldo's status as the 'best in the sport' has attracted a lot of haters.