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Chelsea defender Thiago Silva has admitted that it is harder to defend against Lionel Messi compared to Cristiano Ronaldo. The Brazilian added that both players are capable of incredible things, but picked the Argentine over the Portuguese.
Messi vs Ronaldo will remain a debate for years to come as a conclusion is nowhere near in sight. The two have been playing at the top of their game for over a decade but have had a mixed 13 months.
Silva was quizzed on Ronaldo and Messi last year and the quotes have now resurfaced. The Brazilian picked the current PSG star over the Manchester United forward and told ESPN, as relayed by 90Min:
"The small difference is that Messi, with the ball in a one-on-one or a two-on-one, is difficult to stop. With Ronaldo, I am not saying that it is easy, but one player can mark and the other can monitor - doing that gives you more security at the back. However, Messi and Ronaldo are both players capable of incredible things - like Neymar. I believe, though, that it is harder to defend against Messi than it is against Ronaldo."
Silva is widely regarded as one of the best defenders in the history of the game, but he unfortunately never got to team up with Messi or Ronaldo. The Argentine moved to PSG a season after Silva left the club. Ronaldo was believed to be in contention for a move to Chelsea this summer, but it did not materialize.
Thiago Silva missed Thomas Tuchel's last Chelsea game
Thiago Silva was rested by Thomas Tuchel in his last game as the Chelsea manager. The German was sacked by the club last week and was replaced by Graham Potter.
The former manager spoke about the exclusion of Silva ahead of the defeat to Dinamo Zagreb and was quoted by SI as saying:
"We decided with Thiago that he will have a break from the traveling and stress after he played every minute so far in very intense matches. It was the moment to give him a break."
Potter makes his debut as the Chelsea manager tonight when they take on RB Salzburg.
