Portuguese football legend Cristiano Ronaldo and Argentine football star Lionel Messi have long been debated as the “Greatest Of All Time” (GOAT) by their supporters but many people from the sport, over the years, have also chimed in to reveal who they supported.
While the world remains divided between the two legends, Stefano Pioli, the newly appointed manager of Al Nassr who also joined the debate recently, knows whose side he is on.
“I think Cristiano Ronaldo is superior to Lionel Messi, he has scored more goals than games,” Pioli said, as he was asked to choose the GOAT between Ronaldo and Messi.
Some chose the 36-year-old Inter Miami star after his national team won the Qatar Fifa World Cup 2022.
However, Pioli’s preference of the 39-year-old Al Nassr striker in the debate stems from his recent achievement scoring the 902nd goal of his career in a recent match against Al Ettifaq.
This was Al Nassr’s first game under the new manager. The Riyadh-based club crushed Al Ettifaq by a 3-0 victory.
Piolio joined Al Nassr after former manager Luis Castro was sacked following the team were held to a 1-1 draw against Al Shorta in the Asian Champions League, in which Ronaldo was absent
Making a strong return, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner smashed the first goal with his ‘super-kick’ in the first-half penalty in the 33rd minute, leading his team to 1-0.
While celebrating, the former Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus star expressed excitement by pointing his son, Ronaldo Jr in the grandstand with three fingers.
This was a tribute to his son who had scored two goals for the Al Nassr youth team earlier that day.
The Portuguese forward’s side won the match on Friday against Al Ettifaq with Salem Al Najdi and Anderson Talisca impacting the score by smashing one goal each.
Meanwhile, UEFA’s player of the year won the Saudi Pro League Golden Boot last season by scoring 50 goals.
Ronaldo aims to smash 1000 career goals before his retirement.
