Even these within the highest circles of energy and affect should not exempt from soccer’s greatest debate—who’s the best of all time? Prince William, an avid soccer fan and President of the English Soccer Affiliation (FA), lately waded into the endless dialogue surrounding two of the game’s greatest icons.
Throughout a go to to Aston Villa’s coaching floor, Bodymoor Heath, the Prince of Wales took half in a rapid-fire Q&A session the place he was requested to make some powerful selections between legendary gamers. One explicit query, nevertheless, stood out—Messi or Ronaldo?
Prince William has lengthy been a devoted supporter of Villa, regularly attending their matches and even bringing his son, Prince George, alongside to expertise the game he loves. Lately, the royal was in attendance because the Birmingham facet secured a spot within the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals with a win over Membership Brugge.
Forward of the sport, the 42-year-old took time to go to the membership’s coaching advanced, the place he was challenged to select between soccer’s best legends in a quickfire session with The Solar. Some selections had been tough, others got here rapidly—his choose for a penalty taker between Zinedine Zidane and David Beckham? “That is going to harm. Becks, I believe, simply.” However when requested to select between Brazilian Ronaldo [Nazario] and Beckham, the Prince sided with the legendary striker with out hesitation.
Nonetheless, the last word check got here when he needed to decide between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo—a second that had soccer followers eagerly awaiting his response.
Prince William’s GOAT choose
After a second of hesitation, the Prince of Wales lastly made his alternative. “Gotta be Messi, simply,” he admitted. His resolution, although solely barely in favor of the Argentine famous person, provides one more voice to the talk that has raged for over a decade.
Messi’s extraordinary dribbling skill, imaginative and prescient, and playmaking abilities have usually set him other than his rivals. His crowning second got here when he led Argentina to 2022 World Cup glory, additional cementing his place among the many all-time greats.
Regardless of his admiration for Cristiano Ronaldo, it appears Messi’s skill to outline matches with moments of pure magic was sufficient to sway Prince William’s resolution.
Royal hamstring harm making an attempt to repeat Ronaldo
Whereas he might have picked Messi as his GOAT, Prince William nonetheless holds the Portuguese in excessive regard—notably in the case of objective celebrations. In a lighthearted second, the royal revealed that he as soon as injured himself whereas making an attempt to imitate Ronaldo’s well-known ‘Siuuu’ celebration in his backyard.
“Properly, clearly!” he laughed when requested if he had tried the transfer. “After which I do a hammy.” The admission drew laughter from these current, together with Aston Villa defender Tyrone Mings, who had playfully requested if William had ever tried to duplicate Ronaldo’s celebration.