"The only thing I wouldn’t do" - When former Manchester United star told Alejandro Garnacho to stop copying Cristiano Ronaldo and follow Lionel Messi 

Argentine veteran Angel Di Maria once advised compatriot Alejandro Garnacho to stop copying Cristiano Ronaldo and follow Lionel Messi instead. Both superstars are part of an exclusive set of players to have shared the field with both Messi and Ronaldo.

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are arguably two of the best players to have ever played the game. The two titans have scored over 1700 goals between them and had established an uncontested duopoly over the coveted Ballon d'Or during their primes. At present, Lionel Messi has eight Ballons d'Or while Cristiano Ronaldo has five.

While Garnacho is a huge admirer of Lionel Messi, he has publicly showed his love for Cristiano Ronaldo several times. The 20-year-old is often seen copying the Portuguese superstar's iconic 'Siu' celebration and has even been spotted wearing Ronaldo-branded underwear and boots.

In a conversation with TyC Sports (published on January 30, 2024), El Fideo opened up about the advice he had for Garnacho. He said (quoted by GOAL):

“The only thing I wouldn’t do is celebrate like Cristiano. I would score the goal and I would do like Messi does. I’ll stick with that.”

The Benfica superstar also lavished praise on the Argentine's potential, commenting:

“He is a very fast player, he has incredible ability. He is going to gain it with experience and coming to the national team, it is a place where you learn a lot and continue to improve. It helped me a lot to grow technically in every way, it is spectacular. I think he will grow with experience as well."

Speaking about maturing as a player as one grows up, he referred to his early days.

"When I was young I wanted to make the play 30 times in the game. Over the years you realise that if you do it 10, but you do it better, it’s worth it. He has a lot of future, a very big future. It depends on him, on his head, to be able to handle it. I don’t have much to say, there’s a reason he’s playing for Manchester United,” added Angel Di Maria.

During his second stint at Manchester United, Cristiano Ronaldo was Garnacho's teammate six times. The Portuguese talisman even assisted a Garnacho goal against Real Sociedad in the UEFA Europa League. Meanwhile, he has shared the pitch with Lionel Messi twice.

When Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney picked between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo

Last year, Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney picked the GOAT between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The Englishman shared the pitch 205 times with Ronaldo, registering 25 joint goal participations.

However, he picked Messi as the GOAT over the Portuguese superstar. In an interview with The Overlap, Rooney explained why he thought Lionel Messi was the GOAT.

“I think Messi, he’s the best ever. I get a lot of stick for saying Messi where it’s as if, ‘How can you say Messi, it’s Ronaldo.’ I understand that people can say Messi, people can say Ronaldo – they are both incredible, probably the best two players to ever play the game. For me, Messi has just got that little bit more flair, which I like in a player, so that’s the reason," explained the Englishman.

Despite nearing 40, both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are scoring regularly for their respective sides. Messi ended the 2024 season with 23 goals and 13 assists in 25 games for Inter Miami. He also helped the Herons win their debut MLS Supporters' Shield.

Ronaldo, meanwhile, has already racked up 19 goals and three assists in 22 club games across competitions this season.

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