Casemiro comments on ‘GOAT’ debate

Former Real Madrid player Carlos Henrique Casemiro spoke on the battle for the world football podium between Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi in an interview with Spanish sports daily ‘AS’.

Casemiro is one of those lucky players who have been able to share a dressing room with one of the two best players of the last few generations of football, as the Brazilian shared his Real Madrid success with Cristiano Ronaldo, with whom he also coincided at Manchester United.

The former Real Madrid player, who lifted the Champions League trophy five times during his time at Real Madrid, was asked if the Messi era at Barcelona was overshadowed by the ‘Merengues’ dominance of Europe’s most prestigious competition.

“It’s hard to say. Messi has been one of the best players in history, but we had another one, Cristiano Ronaldo. What both of them did is unforgettable. In my generation, the best were Cristiano, Messi… and I’d add Neymar slightly behind them. I’d put him in the podium. But what Cristiano did for football and how he changed it is enormous,” he told ‘AS’.

“Just like Guardiola changed football with tiki-taka, these two changed it as well. 50 goals per season, and it seemed normal. Those two players will remain in the memory forever. But we won those Champions Leagues with Zinedine Zidane, who also marked an era,” he concluded on the matter.

The Manchester United midfielder also spoke about Kylian Mbappe’s struggles to adapt after his arrival at Real Madrid. “Yes, but he’s now settled, and he’s going to score 30 or 40 goals a year. The young guys, like Rodrygo, [Eder] Militao, or Fede—who I admire a lot for how he plays and gives his all—know how to wait for their moment. And it always comes.

The adaptation of young players is helped by the veterans explaining how everything works there”.