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A clip from 2010 of Wesley Sneijder claiming he could have been as good as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi has resurfaced online. The Dutchman stated that while the two superstars made sacrifices, he decided to stay within his limits and is happy with how his career turned out.
The Dutchman has played for the top clubs across Europe, including Real Madrid. He started at Ajax before moving to Santiago Bernabeu for two years.
Sneider then spent three seasons at the San Siro with Inter - where he won the Champions league in 2010 - and finished his career with stints in Galatasaray in Turkey, Nice in France, and Al-Gharafa in Qatar.
While speaking with Gianluca di Marzio, Sneijder claimed he could have been the best in the world talks with Messi and Ronaldo, but he chose not to. He added that he liked to have a drink with his dinner and enjoy life while the aforementioned stars made sacrifices. He said:
"I could have become like Messi or Ronaldo. I simply didn't feel like it. I enjoyed my life, maybe I had a glass [of wine] at dinner. Leo and Cristiano are different, they have made many sacrifices. And that's fine with me, my career, however, was still amazing."
Sneijder challenged Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for the Ballon d'Or in 2010
Wesley Sneijder helped Inter complete a treble in 2010 and was the favorite to win the Ballon d'Or that year. However, he finished fourth in the race with Messi lifting the trophy and his Barcelona teammates, Andreas Iniesta and Xavi, finishing behind him. Ronaldo finished sixth in the final standings.
Jose Mourinho spoke about the Ballon d'Or snub for his Inter players and said:
"It's strange that Samuel, during all his career, never managed to win the Ballon d'Or. Wes was amazing that season. In the same year, he wins the treble, he plays the World Cup final. We got to the Gala in 2010. The boys were not even on the top-three list. The only thing they managed to do was to be in the top XI, a player per position."
