The Bulgaria star is fed up with the tired old debate about who is the greatest footballer of our time and has a solution to see it come to an end
Dimitar Berbatov thinks that the Ballon d’Or and FIFA Best awards should end the debate between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo by simply awarding both players the prize every season.
The pair used to compete in Spain as Barcelona legend Messi faced off against Real Madrid talisman Ronaldo at the top of La Liga.
Ronaldo has since moved on to play at Juventus and recently missed out on winning the FIFA Best Award to Messi, despite winning Serie A and the Nations League with Portugal.
Berbatov is a former Man Utd team-mate of Ronaldo’s but he respects Messi having faced him during his club career.
“Ronaldo versus Messi, how can you separate them? I think they should get their awards and give it to both of them. All the time. You can’t say this one is better than the other,” Betfair Ambassador Berbatov told Goal.
“Ronaldo wants them all because he is so ambitious. He is desperate to break this record then that record. Messi is not showing it but inside and when he is at home then he probably thinks, ‘I will f***ing destroy everybody’. When you are good, you know you are good. Why shy away from that?”
Berbatov recently announced his retirement after a highly decorated career for club and country. The former United frontman joked that Ronaldo knows how he can stay young forever as he continues to be one of world football’s most feared forwards.
“I have f***ing respect for Ronaldo’s longevity,” Berbatov added. “He is 34! He plays for Juventus as a star player after playing in England and Spain, now Italy. In every championship he has done unbelievably well.
“Look at his physique, how he prepares. He has all the tools around him to stay young forever. He can keep himself young in his soul.”
As Ronaldo succeeds in his senior years, Zlatan Ibrahimovic represents an even older footballer who continues to impress with his performances for LA Galaxy. The 38-year-old Swedish striker is aiming to win the MLS championship this season and Berbatov went on to heap praise on his ability to keep scoring as he ages.
“Look at Ibrahimovic, MLS is not the same as England or Italy or whatever,” he said. “Although, I am 38, let me tell you, I wake up every morning and have pain here, here, here. I watch Ibra and think what the f*** man? Maybe he has something I don’t have which is why he is still playing.”
For more from Betfair Ambassador Dimitar Berbatov head to www.betfair.com/berbatov and to find out more about the new Betfair Exchange ‘How to Hub’ head to www.betfair.com/howtoexchange.
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