La Liga chief Javier Tebas chooses GOAT from Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi

La Liga president Javier Tebas has weighed in on the GOAT debate between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, revealing that the Argentine legend comes first for him. Tebas spoke at length about the present situation in Spanish football, La Liga, and about the state of Messi and Ronaldo's respective former clubs Barcelona and Real Madrid.

In an exclusive interview with Juan Jose Buscalia from DSports, Tebas said both Ronaldo and Messi are two of the "best players in history." but put Messi before the Portuguese talisman.

"Lionel and Cristiano are the best two players in history, with Messi as first. Players are important but not essential for a competition," Tebas said.

The President also added that the Ronaldo-Messi rivalry can never be replicated in football, as both players have been on the highest level since they were teenagers.

"Trying to repeat it for so long, because Messi and Cristiano have been at the highest level since they were 18, it will never happen again, the stars have aligned," Tebas added.

Cristiano Ronaldo left Real Madrid in 2018 to join the Serie A side Juventus. In 2021, he left the Italian side to join his boyhood club Manchester United. He joined the Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr after a mutual termination of his United contract in 2022.

Lionel Messi left Barcelona as a free agent in 2021 to join Paris St-Germain. He left the club in 2023 to join the MLS club Inter Miami.

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Javier Tebas claims Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi leaving La Liga did not 'cause any damage'

In the aforementioned interview, Javier Tebas opined that the Spanish league has continued to grow while neither Ronaldo nor Messi could develop Italian and French football, respectively, after leaving their former Spanish clubs.

"Cristiano went to Italy and Italian football has not increased, his rights have not increased, they have decreased. Messi left with Neymar and Mbappe, and French football has not taken off. We have continued to grow," the President said.

This is not the first time Tebas has spoken on the matter. Speaking to A Bola in February 2024, he said Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi leaving the La Liga did not harm the league.

"Messi and Ronaldo leaving didn't cause any damage because we didn't shrink, but with them, we would certainly have grown faster," the President said.

"The French league with Messi, Neymar and Mbappe didn't grow, Cristiano Ronaldo went to Italy and the Italian league's international revenues didn't increase, ours did even though we lost them both," he continued.

In his interview with DSports, Tebas also mentioned the players who are currently doing well in La Liga, including Lamine Yamal, Pedri, and Gavi from Barcelona. The chief added that Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr from Real Madrid have "made a difference" for the club and the league.