‘The b*****d doesn’t let you breathe!’: Dani Alves reveals his struggles playing against ‘scoring machine’ Cristiano Ronaldo in El Clasico… as he picks Lionel Messi over Pele as the greatest of all time
- Dani Alves reveals that Cristiano Ronaldo is the toughest opponent he had faced
- The duo came up against each other many times during their spells in LaLiga
- The ex-Brazil star says Lionel Messi is the best player in the history of the game
Former Barcelona defender Dani Alves has admitted that he found it ‘difficult’ to mark Cristiano Ronaldo, describing the Portuguese star as a ‘b******’ who ‘didn’t let you breathe’.
The pair played against each other multiple times in El Clasico, when Ronaldo was at Real Madrid.
Ronaldo used to play on the wing and would directly come up against Alves, who was the Barcelona right-back for an incredibly successful eight years.
Dani Alves (left) admitted that Cristiano Ronaldo (Right) is the toughest opponent he has faced
Alves, who is playing in Mexico with Liga MX side Pumas, has described Los Blancos star Ronaldo as one of the hardest opponents he has faced in his career.
In an Marca interview with Hugo Sanchez, Alves said: ‘Cristiano Ronaldo, this b*****d doesn’t let you breathe for a second. I didn’t do too badly, but it’s difficult. He’s a scoring machine.’
Alves was also asked to decide who is the greatest of all time between former Barcelona team-mate and PSG star Lionel Messi, and the Brazilian legend and multiple World Cup winner Pele.
Alves picked his ex-Barcelona team mate Lionel Messi (left) as the greatest player of all time
Pele is recognised as one of the best players of all time having won three World Cups
Alves said: ‘I choose Pele for one reason: he changed football. Messi changed a generation. All those people who are more than football, I’m going to choose them. And besides, I’m Brazilian.
‘For me, Pele should not be part of this debate. If you ask me, who is the best player in history? I would say Messi. Pele doesn’t come into it.’
Alves, 39, has a one-year deal with the Mexican side but has not committed to extending his stay at the club.
Alves is still yet to commit his future to Pumas citing that he wants to be able to prove himself
‘Before I ask for anything, I like to deliver. I have a year to prove myself with them,’ he said.
‘I wouldn’t have a problem [to extend].
‘I need to show them that I can [perform], that together we can build a very cool team in Mexico, that plays in a different way in which the young players can come through.’
