Cristiano Ronaldo is not on the list of the Top 5 footballers that dominate the competition at the moment. The players have been picked by Brazilian legend Ronaldo, who indicated the chosen ones have one thing in common - they all captured his imagination. The former Real Madrid striker also picked Lionel Messi as his No. 1.
Likewise, Ronaldo is convinced that La Liga right now boasts of the best players on the planet, and that tells a lot why he considers the top-flight Spanish football as the most competitive. It should be noted that the two-time World Cup is a majority owner of La Liga club Real Valladolid.
The former frontman, however, conceded that in terms of profitability, the Premier League tops the rivals in Europe.
As for his pick as the best in the world in the present generation, Ronaldo said it has to be Messi, who, like the Brazilian has won the Ballon d'Or several times. But the glaring difference is the Argentine superstar counts six of the prestigious award while Ronaldo took home the honor twice.
"He is number one, he is a talent that means it will take 20 or 30 years to see something similar," Goal reported the legendary forward as saying, picking up on the story by Spanish publication AS.
Ronaldo also pointed out that rising French superstar Kylian Mbappe caught his attention because the Paris Saint-Germain "has a lot of speed, he finishes well, he has great movement, he shoots really well with both feet, he has an incredible stride."
Rounding up the football great's top picks are Neymar, who plays with Mbappe at PSG, Eden Hazard of Real, and Mohamed Salah of Liverpool.
Strangely absent on the list is Juventus striker Ronaldo, but the report did not include an explanation of why the Portuguese superstar was excluded. To be sure, the omission would stir controversy as Ronaldo is considered the closest rival to Messi.
CR7 has multiple titles and awards under his name and, like Ronaldo and Messi, is owner of Ballon honors, five to be exact. It was not explained why Ronaldo was snubbed, but the assumption is that he fell short of capturing the imagination of the Brazilian legend.
That being the case, the oversight will certainly not take anything away from Ronaldo as he remains one of the most sought after players. The Sun reported that before his transfer from Real to Juventus was completed in 2018, the top goalscorer had a previous arrangement with AC Milan.
The transfer failed to materialize as the club owner at that time, Li Yonghong, deemed the deal not sustainable and had it scrubbed.
