Former Nigerian football star Austin “Jay-Jay” Okocha has picked Lionel Messi over Cristiano Ronaldo while discussing the two football legends on The Big One Podcast.
Okocha acknowledged Ronaldo’s exceptional goalscoring ability but described the Portuguese star primarily as a goalscorer, comparing him with Manchester City striker Erling Haaland.
“Ronaldo is a special player. But he’s for me a goalscorer. He can score 10 million goals. He is a goalscorer. It’s like Haaland. Haaland is a goalscorer,” Okocha said.
However, Okocha placed Messi on another level, describing the Argentine as a player with exceptional natural talent and a deep connection with football.
“But Messi, Messi, Messi is on another planet,” he said.
The former Super Eagles captain praised Messi’s ability and described him as a football genius who was seemingly born to play the game.
“Messi was born to play football, you know. Messi, I think Messi will get ill if he doesn’t play football. You know, he’s a genius,” he added.
Okocha’s comments put Messi ahead of Ronaldo in his assessment, with the former Nigerian international highlighting the Argentine’s creativity, genius and natural ability.
