The Argentine forward reveals that the two perennial Ballon d'Or winners' approach to training differs, having worked alongside both men
Ex-Argentina and Manchester United striker Carlos Tevez has gone on record to reveal the key difference between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Both men have won a plethora of major honours over the last decade on an individual and team basis, wowing audiences all over the world with their incredible exploits on the pitch.
During his time at Manchester United and Real Madrid, Ronaldo has won the Champions League five times, along with multiple domestic titles in England and Spain, not to mention managing to secure his place in Los Blancos history by finishing his spell at the club as their all-time record goalscorer.
Messi, on the other hand, has stayed loyal to Barcelona over the course of his illustrious career to date, after coming through the ranks at the Camp Nou at youth level.
The 31-year-old maestro is a four-time Champions League winner and a nine-time La Liga champion with the Blaugrana and is also the highest scoring player in the club's history.
The two men have shared the coveted Ballon d'Or award equally with five wins apiece in the last 10 years, as the eternal debate over who is ultimately the best player in the game has rumbled on intensely among fans and experts in the background.
Tevez has tried to shed light on that discussion with his comments on Tuesday, stating that he can only see one thing that sets the two forwards apart from one another, as he told reporters: "Lionel Messi, I never saw him in the gym. I’ve never seen him train to stop the ball or those exercises.
"It is all natural to him, but on penalties he trained: first he did not take them and now he shoots them all at the corner.
"Cristiano always stopped in the gym after training: for him it is an obsession and, being the best in everything, he always arrived at work early."
The former United striker went on to add that no matter how early he tried to report for club duty, Ronaldo - now plying his trade in Italy with Juventus - was always the first one through the doors.
"When the training was set for nine in the morning I arrived at eight and he was already there.
"Even if I arrived at 7:30 he was already there.
"I began to ask myself, ‘How can I get rid of this guy?’ So one day I arrived at six but he was already there! Sleepy, but he was there."
danoni
251
How come folks didn't get the message of this write up? What is being said here is that "what talent will do for the talented, hard work & determination will do the same for the untalented". Period.
Mista7
150
I believe both players are living the dreams of their lives. Weather one goes to gym and the other doesn't. They are all uniquely different and they make the game Worth watching with their inclusion. And they are all getting results for what they believe is their philosophy to success.
pitydog
142
hard work pays off. What a legend
GabriKoko
118
Yea but as it’s naturally to Messi means no matter how Ronaldo try he won’t beat Messi bcz trying is different than something in naturally in ur blood and don’t forget Ronaldo always needs more support in getting ball and getting insisted but Messi does both he insist and score and gives opportunities to others accept Ronaldo wants it all by him self generally Leo has it all so he still the best
FootballLover15243
106
I just want to make something clear. Ronaldo is his own person. Messi is his own person. They are both great football players and always will be. If it comes naturally to Messi good for him, but it doesn’t really show hard work and dedication. Ronaldo will always be loyal to football itself. He had worked sooooo hard to accomplish his dream. He is LIVING proof that if you want something all you need is hard work and dedication.
Rijan
75
"TALENT beats HARDWORK"
Malick10
54
Ok Ok Ok Here's my peace of mind about this article. I start by giving an example: 2 Fathers with 2 sons, One is a billionaire and the other is Poor. Both Parents died and they sons inherit(take over) the wealth meaning the Billionaire's son becomes a billionaire and the Poorer's son remind poor but here's the thing AFTER A CERTAIN TIME THE WORLD STARTED TO COMPARE THEY WEALTH like it's becomes very difficult to tell who's richer because the son of the Poor man worked to hard and became someone in life. AS A PERSON WHO DO U SALUTE AND RESPECT BETWEEN THESE 2 SONS? I believe u got my point. Messi was born with it so it's normal but to see someone that wasn't born with it come to your level that makes u useless... Can u imagine if Ronaldo had that Natural talent u are talking about with his hard working mindset woooow I salute u CR7 living legend. Ronaldo is someone you can set as Idol to kids like never give up in life and believe in your dreams not that weak minded of Messi who's giving up on Argentina whenever he helps them to lose a trophy... I can't let my kids to have as Idol a quiter
Justin1997
47
even thou hard work or not, naturallity or not, wat good is that, both of them proved themselves that they are doing their best for their teams and future career, right to be done is just thank them for they made world of football an enjoyable place to live in!
hamza_chounaki
47
How come folks didn't get the message of this write up? What is being said here is that "what talent will do for the talented, hard work & determination will do the same for the untalented". Period.
sibaekloru
15
How does ronaldo needs to beat messi? Ronaldo is the best player in the world, messi needs to beat ronaldo, but messi dont even get it in the top 3, so how can messi do it? Messi had hes time in 2012/2013, i cant deny, he was on top back then!
do you mean RONALDO was not a good player in 2010, when he was not part of the top three? if you really understand football you'll realise that statistically and logically, one who played fewer games and did more is far better than one who played more games before he does more!!! if you're a mathematician, work out the average per games each of MESSI and RONALDO played in their respective careers so far and compare the resulting outcome, you'll surely understand that if they began together RONALDO could have been way back behind MESSI!!! MESSI, played less games than RONALDO, yet boast of better statistics than RONALDO, so to you which of them would you rate the best???