Kevin-Prince Boateng has revealed he was 'forced' to lie and say Lionel Messi was the best player in the world when he joined Barcelona F.C. otherwise he 'wouldn't play'.
Speaking on Rio Ferdinand's VIBE with FIVE podcast, Boateng claimed it was 'one of the biggest lies of my life' as he had always supported Real Madrid growing up and 'loved' Cristiano Ronaldo.
'I remember that when I arrived in Barcelona they immediately asked me who the best player in the world was. I had to say it was Lionel Messi, I lied. It was one of the biggest lies of my life,' Boateng told the podcast.
'Normally I always tell the truth, but I lied because it was the only way to wear the Barcelona shirt. I always supported Real Madrid when I was a teenager. I love Cristiano Ronaldo. But they told me I had to say that, otherwise I wouldn't play.'
He also added: 'He [Messi] is the captain but doesn't speak. We spoke one time in the shower because he asked if it's difficult to score in Italy because Ronaldo was there at that time, and he showed the rivalry between them.
'I told him that it was more difficult that Ronaldo was there, and he scored every game for three years. People forget too easily what he's done there.'
Boateng, whose former clubs include Tottenham Hotspur, Portsmouth F.C. and AC Milan, joined Barcelona on loan in January 2019 from Sassuolo.
The Ghanaian footballer only played five matches for the Spanish giants and scored no goals but won the La Liga.
Ronaldo joined Juventus in 2018 and scored 101 goals in 134 appearances before returning to Manchester United in 2021.
Messi also went on the move that summer from Barcelona to join Paris Saint-Germain as a free agent.
The Argentinian scored 32 goals in 75 games before moving to Inter Miami in the MLS earlier this year.
Lumaekmory
830
Everybody in the World knows that Messi is way way better than Ronaldo. Even you Mr. Boatang. Go ask ur big brother
Tondabowy
760
Prince Boateng lied and his brother Jerome Boateng exposed the truth
Peaceking1234
637
We don't need to speak much💯
Mangisha
453
I have read this a # of times. It's like clubs ask their players to stick to "each other", which is a normal thing. In Barca - RM rivalry, it's normal that you expect the RM leaders to expect their employees (the players) to support Ronaldo, and the same for Barca players to support Messi. Imagine Busquests saying that Ronaldo was better than Messi, or Marcelo saying Messi was the better player. You support your teammate/s. Nothing surprising. What's surprising for me is to "threaten" the players not to play if they supported someone else. If that's true, then it's totally wrong. Players shd be allowed to idol whoever they want.
Messisuuuui
428
AF tryen so hard to make Messi and Ronaldo fans fight
JoshuaBriggsMulbah
417
Boateng trying to be a comedian How can you say sure thing bro..
Donmasscort
172
Hmm when I see dis I just begin to smile like this guy just want to gain attention of Ronaldo and Messi fans like even u are not d first person to lie abt dis most Madrid players knows deeply in their heart dat Messi is out of dis world is unmatched. Wen interviewing some Madrid legends and players it proves in their word dat if u wanna play u have to lie dat Ronaldo is d best cus fans love for u will be faded likewise Messi buh put dat aside in every aspect of football Messi as show world football fans Dat is d best buh some will still find rubbish things to defend their goat and all dis is not big deal anymore even some people still disagree dat Jesus is not sent by God wen he’s still alive.
tundeeniola7
112
'I remember that when I arrived in Barcelona they immediately asked me who the best player in the world was. I had to say it was Lionel Messi, I lied. It was one of the biggest lies of my life,' Boateng told the podcast. 'Normally I always tell the truth, but I lied because it was the only way to wear the Barcelona shirt. I always supported Real Madrid when I was a teenager. so how did they compel him to lie when he was only asked a question & he choose his answer to give. it's not that he said ronaldo & they forced him to say Messi just to be part of the team so he chose his choice & not forced to me. i don't think there's any player in madrid that will not mention ronaldo if such is asked but it's a choice. ibrahimovic is still standing with his own words of the best till date & has never changed his answer so let boateng learn to stay hidden & not try to look for relevan when he's not noticed
Jordon4u
10
Everybody in the World knows that Messi is way way better than Ronaldo. Even you Mr. Boatang. Go ask ur big brother
One thing I like about Messi is, he will not give into such attention seekers. Messi refuses to call himself the best even though the world, stats, qualities, performance, longevity, opponents, friends, enemies and heaven knows Messi is the Goat in football. So K-P Boateng coming out to say this doesn’t change the fact that Messi is the Goat and also a humble person. What I don’t understand is a player like himself not having any backbone to call CR7 the goat if he feels or thinks CR7 is the goat, even Garnacho has boldness and personality than KP Boateng 😂😂
rookaviruss
10
Everybody in the World knows that Messi is way way better than Ronaldo. Even you Mr. Boatang. Go ask ur big brother
He thinks Ronaldo is the best and he likes Real Madrid more but he lies to wear Barca jersey 🤣🤣🤣 and he lied again. He knows the rivalry between Messi/ Ronaldo and Barca/ Real. If he likes Real and Ronaldo why would he say Messi and Barca is the best to play for them? Why can’t he ignore the team and player he don’t like?