Lionel Messi and <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/tag/cristiano-ronaldo/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cristiano Ronaldo</a> have dominated the most recent era of soccer, competing for every award for more than a decade. As a result, both have left impressive legacies in the history of the sport and are constantly compared to determine who is better. In light of this, a former <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/tag/barcelona/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Barcelona</a> star decided to weigh in on the conversation with his surprising opinion, explaining the differences between the two players.



“Young kids, don’t look up to <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/tag/lionel-messi/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Messi</a>. Because you will never be like him. That’s the thing. You can never be Messi. He has received god-given talent in his left foot. We can never be like Messi. But, you can be kind of like Cristiano Ronaldo, because that is hard work. Of course he has talent too. But there was a point in Ronaldo’s career where he realized: ‘hey, I will stop the show, and I will put in hard work.’,” <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/tag/kevin-prince-boateng/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kevin Prince-Boateng</a> said, via Unscripted with Josh Mansour.



Boateng consistently expressed his admiration for Real Madrid and his preference for Cristiano Ronaldo. However, he eventually joined Barcelona as a substitute striker. After participating in only four games, he departed the team, having played alongside Lionel Messi just once. Despite the brief stint, the Ghanaian remarked that witnessing the Argentinean in training left him speechless, as he was able to seize every opportunity without fail.



Although Messi and Cristiano were locked in an intense rivalry on the pitch for several years, the two players showcased completely different styles. The Argentine impresses as an all-around player, excelling in both goals and assists. In contrast, the Portuguese stands out for his scoring prowess, adapting his game following a knee injury. Ronaldo exemplifies hard work, solidifying his status as Lionel’s rival despite numerous challenges.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" width="1920" height="1080" src="https://ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https://images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/full/WST_20251201_WST_607361_lionel-messi-inter-miami-21_3f5b3fa6.webp&amp;width=1920&amp;height=1080" alt="Lionel Messi #10 of Inter Miami CF." class="wp-image-606620"></figure><figcaption>Lionel Messi #10 of Inter Miami CF.</figcaption></figure>



<h2>Van Basten also holds up Messi as a true hard-work icon</h2>



Throughout his professional career, Lionel Messi has consistently been ranked among the best players in history due to his exceptional talent. This has sparked the belief that while the Argentine was born with extraordinary ability, Cristiano Ronaldo has built his career through sheer hard work. In response, the legendary Marco van Basten offers a different perspective, providing a clear example to challenge this argument.


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“Ronaldo worked hard, but do people forget that Messi is still playing soccer? The man is 38 years old. He lives for his sport as much as Ronaldo and worked just as hard. Because you can’t be as good as Messi at 38 without working hard,” van Basten said, via Ziggo Sport.



To suggest that Lionel Messi is not an embodiment of hard work is quite unfair. Throughout his career, the Argentine has consistently exemplified professionalism, beginning each season in peak form. Furthermore, in 2025, he continues to stand out as the best player in the MLS, scoring 44 goals and providing 24 assists, both league-leading statistics. These achievements would not be possible without his exceptional dedication and work ethic.

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<a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/tag/lionel-messi/">Lionel Messi</a> played for FC Barcelona for 17 seasons, from 2004 to 2021. During that time, his influence within the club grew alongside his reputation as a player, giving him significant decision-making power over certain aspects of the team, according to a former player.



<a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/tag/kevin-prince-boateng/">Kevin-Prince Boateng</a> gave an interview this week to Unscripted with Josh Mansour, where he reflected on different moments of his professional career, including his brief stint with the Catalan side. There, he described an unusual experience that illustrates how decisions were made at the club at that time.



“Before I went to Barcelona, they had two sporting directors. One of them was Eric Abidal. He said, ‘Yes, we want you,’” Boateng began. “Then the other sporting director said, ‘We want you.’ The president said, ‘We want you.’ The coach says, ‘We want you.’ And I said, ‘Perfect, I’m gonna sign tomorrow.’ They said, ‘No, we need to speak to Leo first.’”



Boateng admitted he was surprised by the situation. “I was like, ‘What you mean?’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, we need to speak to Leo,’” the Ghanaian forward recalled. “He had that power. So I was going to sleep hoping that Leo likes me or sees me in the team. I was like, ‘Tomorrow, I can sign my shirt with Barcelona, but if Leo says no, I would not sign my contract.’”



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" width="1920" height="1080" src="https://ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https://images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/full/WST_20251128_WST_606889_boateng_02c7d28c.webp&amp;width=1920&amp;height=1080" alt="" class="wp-image-606890"></figure><figcaption>Kevin-Prince Boateng playing for Barcelona.</figcaption></figure>



In the end, Messi’s approval came through, and Boateng joined the team. “I woke up in the morning and they said, ‘All good.’ And I was like, ‘Ohh, OK!’” he recalled. However, the experience was short-lived, as the forward played only 4 matches with <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/tag/barcelona/">Barcelona</a> in 2018 before moving to Fiorentina.


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<h2>Boateng on Messi’s behavior at Barcelona</h2>



Those six months at FC Barcelona left little mark on Boateng’s career, but they gave him insight into the day-to-day life of the Argentine superstar. “Messi, cool guy,” he said in the same interview. “Very quiet. He only speaks with his feet on the field, which I admire because a lot of people talk a lot but don’t perform.”



Regarding his personal experience with Messi, Kevin-Prince was candid. “He’s very quiet, he chooses who to talk to, very selective. But me and him, we were cool. He hugged me, said ‘Welcome, so good to see you.’ I was surprised, ‘Wow, OK,’” the Ghanaian forward recalled.



<h2>Boateng weighs in on Messi’s potential Barcelona return</h2>



The interview with Boateng comes amid growing <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/will-lionel-messi-ever-return-to-barcelona-joan-laporta-delivers-firm-and-final-decision-with-10-word-warning-that-crushes-presidential-rivals-hopes/">speculation about a possible return of Lionel Messi to FC Barcelona</a>, fueled by Leo’s surprise visit to Camp Nou. When asked about a potential second stint for the Argentine forward at the club, Boateng expressed optimism.



“He could, because the way he plays, he could still play five years,” Kevin-Prince said. To illustrate, he drew a comparison with another soccer superstar: “Because the team around him plays for him. It’s a different way of playing, like Cristiano for example.”



As Boateng points out, Messi’s athletic ability does not appear to be an obstacle to imagining a return to FC Barcelona. Instead, contractual matters represent the main challenge, considering Messi’s current contract with Inter Miami runs through December 2028.

Messi had the final word on Barcelona transfers, former teammate says: ‘I was going to sleep hoping that Leo likes me’ - World Soccer Talk

<a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/tag/kevin-prince-boateng/">Kevin-Prince Boateng</a> has revealed that <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/tag/lionel-messi/">Lionel Messi</a>‘s approach to training had an adverse impact on Barcelona’s young players. The former Ghanaian international played alongside the Argentine during his loan spell at the Spanish giants from Serie A team Sassuolo in the 2018/19 season.



While he only managed four appearances across all competitions for the Blaugrana, he did enough to secure a La Liga medal alongside Messi, who ended the season as the league’s top scorer with 36 goals.



Despite the <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/tag/inter-miami/">Inter Miami</a> superstar’s exceptional performance leading Barca to their eighth league victory in 11 years, Boateng shared some unexpected insights into the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner’s training habits.



On ‘Rio Ferdinand Presents’, the ex-Tottenham Hotspur player confessed that Messi’s minimal exertion in training influenced the club’s young players negatively. “So we come in the dressing room, he’s just sitting there on his phone [and] gets a massage sitting down,” he told the Manchester United icon.



“Two minutes before we go out, he just stands up, closes his boots, and goes out. The warm up for the Champions League game against Liverpool, [we did the] crossbar challenge and then he goes back inside. [The] coach made the last adjustment, [Messi] is on the phone face-timing [and] 30 seconds before we go out he just comes and puts his jacket on and BOOM, goal, goal, goal.”



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" width="1200" height="675" src="https://ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https://images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/full/WST_20250401_WST_563154_Kevin-Prince-Boateng-1200x675_f40641cd.webp&amp;width=1200&amp;height=675" alt="" class="wp-image-563157" srcset="https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/04/01092706/Kevin-Prince-Boateng-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/04/01092706/Kevin-Prince-Boateng-300x169.jpg 300w, https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/04/01092706/Kevin-Prince-Boateng-768x432.jpg 768w, https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/04/01092706/Kevin-Prince-Boateng-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/04/01092706/Kevin-Prince-Boateng-740x416.jpg 740w, https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/04/01092706/Kevin-Prince-Boateng-490x275.jpg 490w, https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/04/01092706/Kevin-Prince-Boateng-250x140.jpg 250w, https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/04/01092706/Kevin-Prince-Boateng.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px"></figure></figure>



<h2>The Messi effect: A double-edged sword</h2>



While Messi, 37, may be hailed as the ultimate soccer wizard, his effortless magic didn’t rub off on some of the younger players at Barcelona who tried to emulate his regime with less stellar results.


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“That’s what the young players did in Barcelona: Malcom, Dembele, they looked at him and they didn’t train so then going to the game, they got injured,“ Boateng recounted. “He’s the only one in the world that can do that.”



<h2>Boateng reflects on his own past regrets</h2>



Now 38, the well-traveled pro, who has racked up appearances for an impressive 15 clubs across five nations, also spilled about his past reckless lifestyle during his stint at Tottenham, admitting to a wild spending spree due to a lack of professional discipline.



“I’ll go back and say: I didn’t treat soccer as a job,” he said in a La Repubblica interview. “I was an idiot. I had talent, but I trained the bare minimum, an hour on the field. I was the last to arrive and the first to leave,” he said in a brutally honest admission.



“I’d be out with friends. I had money, I lived like a king. I’d never been to the gym. That changes your later career. I bought three cars in one day when I was at Tottenham: a Lamborghini, a Hummer and a Cadillac.“



“To the youngsters, I tell them: ‘You cannot buy happiness’. I didn’t play, I had family problems, I was out of the squad. I was looking for happiness in material things: a car makes you happy for a week. I bought three to be happy for three weeks.”

Former Messi teammate at Barcelona claims: 'His dressing room behavior makes him a terrible example for young players'

Former Messi teammate at Barcelona claims: 'His dressing room behavior makes him a terrible example for young players' - World Soccer Talk

Former Messi teammate at Barcelona claims: ‘His dressing room behavior makes him a terrible example for young players’

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