Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are two of the greatest and most hard-working players of all time, but someone who has played with both has revealed who is the more demanding.
Any player who wishes to reach the very top of the game must first-and-foremost demand the best of themselves every single day. In addition to that, they must raise the level of their teammates and inspire them to be better.
Ronaldo and Messi have both done this in their careers, and haven’t been afraid to call out their teammates when performances haven’t met their exceptionally high standards.
The pair have won 13 Ballon d’Ors, 19 league titles and nine Champions Leagues between them.
Their drive and determination to win was perhaps most evident when Ronaldo captained Portugal to an unexpected triumph at Euro 2016 and when Messi inspired Argentina to win the 2022 World Cup.
Francisco Trincao is a player who has been lucky enough to call bother Messi and Ronaldo teammates. The winger plays alongside Ronaldo for Portugal, and he played with Messi for one season after joining Barcelona in 2020.
Not many players can say they’ve done that, putting Trincao in the rare position to say who is the most demanding player.
When asked the question during an interview with Betano, the Sporting CP attacker replied: “Both are very demanding. Maybe Cristiano seems a bit more demanding, but they both want to win at all costs.”
Trincao now plays for Ronaldo’s first club, Sporting, but when he joined Barca he admitted to being a little starstruck when training alongside the likes of Messi and Gerard Pique.
“It’s always a shock, because we’re not used to it… they are players that I grew up watching play and it ends up being quite a shock, but they have always treated me well and I have adapted naturally,” he added.
“They end up being normal people.”
