Aleksander Ceferin, the Slovenian Football Association chief, and the incoming UEFA President recently aired his views on the Cristiano Ronaldo – Leo Messi debate. According to the 48-year-old, the debate is “good for football” and the spectacle they provide across the globe is a treat for all the supporters.
When quizzed by Spanish daily, Marca, he chose the diplomatic path and appreciated the qualities of both the players stating, "Ronaldo is pure power, strength, determination whereas Messi is more of an artist”.
Ceferin, who was elected as the UEFA President, took an impressive haul of 42 votes from a total of 55. Ceferin, spoke of his decision to run for presidency and has vowed to review the recent Champions League deal, under which the UEFA executive committee has agreed to hand Italy, England, Spain, and Germany four guaranteed slots each in the Champions League and also revamped the revenue split to favour those clubs that had previously been most successful.
Also Read: Aleksander Ceferin succeeds Michel Platini as UEFA president
The recent changes mean that it is a setback for the smaller leagues in Europe with opportunities becoming more limited and has been a cause for debate. The President though will have to reach a middle ground as per the Chief Executive, Martin Glen between the bigger clubs and the smaller ones.
Ceferin defeated the 68-year-old Dutch FA president Van Praag and will take over the remaining two and a half years of Frenchman, Michel Platini, who was hit with a four-year ban for his involvement in a matter of disloyal payment by former FIFA President, Sepp Blatter.
Ceferin also has insisted that he would revisit the Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules that were introduced by Platini, which was later revamped for the benefit of the bigger clubs. Stating in his first press conference that it was essential for UEFA to clamp down on FFP rules, otherwise, the gaps between the smaller clubs and bigger clubs would get wider.
The debate between Ronaldo and Messi has been an ongoing topic for many years and last week’s opening fixtures ensured that both of them were at it again with Messi scoring a hat-trick for Barcelona while Ronaldo fired his side to come-back win over his former club, Sporting Lisbon.
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Ceferin appreciated the competition between the players and also their clubs Real Madrid and Barcelona stating that their popularity and playing style is good for football as well. With the Ballon d’Or 2017 yet to be decided it will be interesting to see whether Ronaldo can get closer to Messi’s 5 Ballon d’Or trophies.
