Midfielder Ángel Di Maria believes the gap between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo is unmistakable—both in terms of individual awards and collective trophies.
In an interview with Argentina’s leading newspaper Infobae, Di Maria was asked about Ronaldo’s bold claim of being the most complete player in history. The former teammate of both Messi and Ronaldo replied, “I’m not surprised. I played with Ronaldo for four years at Real Madrid, and he always said that.”
Di Maria, who played alongside Ronaldo at Real Madrid from 2010 to 2014 before moving to Manchester United, ranks among the top five players in terms of assists provided for Ronaldo—registering 25 assists, behind Karim Benzema (47), Gareth Bale (32), and Mesut Özil (31).
Di Maria also noted that the Portuguese superstar has always strived to be number one. “But unfortunately, he was born in the wrong era,” the 36-year-old midfielder added. “Because in the same era as Ronaldo, there was another player who was born and got to touch the magic wand. The numbers speak for themselves. One has 8 Ballon d’Ors, while the other only 5—a huge difference. Winning the World Cup is another massive contrast, as is securing two Copa America titles, among many other factors.”
Di Maria was clearly referring to Messi, with whom he has been teammates from the youth levels in Argentina all the way through the national team. They spent 16 years together—from 2008 to 2024—winning the Olympic gold medal in 2008, the 2022 World Cup, and the Copa America in both 2021 and 2024.
At 40 years old, Ronaldo recently clinched a major international title with his national team by winning Euro 2016. Nevertheless, he still holds impressive Champions League records with 140 goals (Messi trails in second with 129) and 42 assists (with Di Maria contributing 41).
Messi and Ronaldo are widely regarded as two of the greatest players of all time, having combined for a total of 13 Ballon d’Or awards. Di Maria argued that without Messi, Ronaldo could have accumulated 10 Ballon d’Ors instead of his current 5, and conversely, without Ronaldo, Messi might have claimed 13 Ballon d’Ors.
A Benfica midfielder also praised Messi’s contributions to his team’s style of play: “Watching Messi, match after match, feels like he’s playing in his own backyard. He scores in such predictable ways that opponents see it coming, yet they still can’t stop him. Even at 40, Messi will still be capable of playing like that. Ronaldo always claims to be the best, but I have no doubt that Messi is the greatest of all time.”
Currently, Messi is 37 and is expected to feature in the 2026 World Cup at the age of 38, while Di Maria has already retired from international football. Meanwhile, the Inter Miami boss has no plans to hang up his boots, and Ronaldo is still determined to win the World Cup for the first time in his career—at the age of 41.
Di Maria is among a group of 27 players who have been teammates with both Ronaldo and Messi. This distinguished group includes legends such as Deco, Carlos Tevez, Gerard Piqué, Paulo Dybala, and Sergio Ramos. Excluding Deco, who declined to choose, the remaining four all believe that Messi is the superior player.