"I won't move" - When Iker Casillas snubbed Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo while naming his GOAT

Real Madrid legend Iker Casillas once snubbed both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to name Diego Maradona as his GOAT (Greatest of All Time). The Spaniard is among the finest goalkeepers to grace the beautiful game, and found great succes for club and country in his career.

Casilla played a winner-stays-on style game with GOAL in October last year, where he was asked to choose from a series of iconic names. The Spaniard was first given the options of former teammate Raul Gonzalez and Barcelona icon Samuel Eto'o.

Casilla opted for Raul, but chose Ronaldo Nazario after the legendary Brazilian arrived into the picture. The former Spainish goalkeeper went on to select O Fenomeno ahead of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Michael Owen, Romario, and David Beckham.

Casilla also chose R9 ahead of Ronaldinho, Gareth Bale, Pedro, Guti, Rivaldo, and Karim Benzema. However, when Zinedine Zidane arrived into the scene, the Spaniard switched his allegiance, prompting the host to say:

"There we go, okay!"

Casillas, though, gave a swift response.

"And I won't move," said Casilla.

However, when asked to choose between Zizou and Diego Maradona next, the Spaniard opted for the latter. Casilla stuck with El Diego when Lionel Messi entered the picture, and didn't budge at the option of Cristiano Ronaldo either.

Diego Maradona, who won the 1986 World Cup with Argentina and found success with Barcelona and Napoli, is often considered as one of the greatest footballers ever.

How many times did Iker Casillas face Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in his career?

Iker Casillas came up against both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi during his long and esteemed career. The Spaniard teamed up with the Portuguese superstar at Real Madrid upon his arrival from Manchester United in 2009.

Casilla would go on to shared the pitch 228 times with the five-time Ballon d'Or winner for the LaLiga giants. Interestingly, the Spaniard also locked horns with Cristiano Ronaldo on four occasions, all of which were in international football.

Meanwhile, the iconic goalkeeper came up against Barcelona legend Lionel Messi 26 times in his career, all but one of which were at club level. The two giants regularly collided in the fabled El Clasico, with La Pulga registering 17 goals against Saint Iker in the hostly contested tie. The Argentine also scored a goal against the Spaniard in La Albiceleste's 2-1 win over La Roja in 2009.

About the author

Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over seven years at Sportskeeda. He has written more than 9000 articles for the website, and has garnered over 20 million reads.

Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.

Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.

Deepungsu has been a Manchester United supporter since the year 2000. Unsurprisingly, his favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson and the Scotsman helped him get through some of the toughest days of his life. Like the fiery Scot, Deepungsu also leaves no stone unturned when it comes to accuracy in articles and only relies on credible sources.

Despite believing in Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland to create an iconic rivalry, Deepungsu reckons no one can match the longevity of Messi and Ronaldo. He spends his leisure time writing about life on his blog, reading books, and playing the guitar.

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Edited by Deepungsu Pandit