Kevin De Bruyne offered a well-considered response when questioned about his preference between playing alongside Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi.
As one of the top players of his generation, the Manchester City midfielder provided a straightforward rationale for favoring Ronaldo. De Bruyne believes that teaming up with Ronaldo would be more advantageous because Messi tends to occupy a similar role as a “playmaker,” potentially creating positional overlap.
The Belgium international has come up against both players at club level and the international stage and said he would rather play with the former Manchester United superstar because he’s more of a ‘typical striker’.
“I would probably say Ronaldo because he’s more of a typical striker,” De Bruyne stated.
“Messi is still more of a playmaker.
“I am a playmaker, you can give me a striker.”
De Bruyne thrives off having that focal point to play off and caused chaos playing alongside Erling Haaland, who scored an incredible 52 goals in his debut season at Manchester City.
Messi and Ronaldo have dominated football for more than 15 years, with both scoring a ridiculous amount of goals and collecting 79 trophies and 12 Ballon d’Ors between them.
Their rivalry was a healthy one as they forced one another to raise their game but now no longer playing in Europe in their final years, Ronaldo believes their feud is no longer present.
“I don’t see things like that, the rivalry is gone,” Ronaldo said in a recent press conference.
“It was good, spectators liked it. Those who like Cristiano Ronaldo don’t have to hate Messi and vice versa. We’ve done well, we have changed the history of football. We are respected all over the world, that’s the most important thing.
“He’s followed his path and I have followed mine, regardless of playing outside of Europe.
“From what I’ve seen, he’s been doing well and so have I. The legacy lives on, but I don’t see the rivalry like that. We shared the stage many times, it was 15 years. I’m not saying we’re friends, I’ve never had dinner with him, but we’re professional colleagues and we respect each other.”