Sports

Messi vs Ronaldo: Peter Drury’s verdict on PSG and Man Utd stars

Published

3 years ago

November 10, 2021

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo produce enough spectacular moments to fulfil any commentator’s wildest dreams..

While we don’t proclaim to know whether the top broadcasters practise their own ‘AGUEROOOO’ moment into a mirror or not, Messi and Ronaldo must give them plenty of stunning ammunition.

And no commentator is more adored and celebrated by football fans right now than Peter Drury, whose brilliant wordsmith on the microphone sees go viral on Twitter seemingly every week.

Drury’s magical commentary
Ronaldo’s return to Manchester United appears to have given Drury even more opportunities to call the absolute magnificence of one of the greatest footballers ever with his powers of description.

And believe it or not, Drury is just as eloquent and insightful when talking about Ronaldo, as well as his eternal rival, when he’s sat in normal conversation and not in the gantry of a spectacular arena.

We say that because footage of a 2020 interview with Drury by Nana Aba Anamoah on the Ronaldo vs Messi debate has reappeared on recently – and it’s just as gripping to listen to as you’d expect.

Drury’s superb Ronaldo vs Messi answer
Naturally, Drury was incredibly complimentary about both players, but explained in brilliant fashion why he would choose the Barcelona icon if he could only watch one of them for the rest of his life.

Drury mused during the interview: “We’ve been fortunate to have careers running parallel of possibly the two greatest players there have ever been.

“And the interesting thing about them is that they are, while both brilliant, actually quite different.

“You know, Ronaldo’s capacity for leaping and scoring with his head is phenomenal. I mean, he is an Olympic high-jumper and an Olympic sprinter.He delivers a cross, he scores with both sides and his head. He is brilliant, but if you asked me who I would want to watch if I had to watch one or the other every day for the rest of my life, I’d pick Messi.”

When asked for his reasoning behind the decision, Drury then explained: “Because he appears to do what is impossible.

“He plays off his left foot, he almost doesn’t need a right foot – mind you, he can score perfectly well with his right foot – but he weaves through spaces that don’t exist. He’s like a slippery eel.

“They can’t get hold of him. He sort of defies physics. “Ronaldo looks like an athlete, doesn’t he? I mean, he is a remarkable specimen of a human being; Messi looks like the boy next door and performs like a god.”

GIVEMESPORT’s Kobe Tong says
Maybe I’m biased as someone who believes that Messi is the greatest footballer in history, but I’m on exactly the same wavelength as Drury here.

I could speak until I’m blue in the face about just how incredible Ronaldo is as a footballer and the example that he sets to aspiring athletes with his hard work and dedication is absolute gold dust.

But just like Drury, I will always pick Messi over Ronaldo based on the eye test for which you can assign no data set, statistics or objective value; merely the absolute experiential joy of it all.

For me, the beautiful game is called as such because of the poetry and magic in the sport and nobody typifies that better than the inexplicable genius and freakish talent that is Messi himself