Cristiano Ronaldo slammed in GOAT debate by Kyiv boss as he praises Messi's work ethic

Dynamo Kyiv head coach Mircea Lucescu has taken a sly dig at Cristiano Ronaldo just a day before his side's Champions League clash against Juventus on Tuesday. Although Ronaldo won't feature for the Old Lady in the opening UCL game against Kyiv due to a positive COVID-19 test last week, Lucescu weighed in on the G.O.A.T. debate and revealed why he preferred Lionel Messi over the Portuguese superstar. The Ukrainian Premier League table-toppers will face Juventus, Barcelona and Ferencvaros in the Champions League group stages over the next few months. 

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Dynamo Kyiv boss Mircea Lucescu takes a swipe at Cristiano Ronaldo, explains preference towards Messi

While speaking to reporters ahead of Dynamo Kyiv's UCL encounter against Juventus, Mircea Lucescu explained why he preferred Barcelona's Lionel Messi over Cristiano Ronaldo. The 75-year-old began by saying, "I've come across Ronaldo and Messi on several occasions in the career and will come up against them again soon. I have to tell my players what they are both like and how to go about defending against them."

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Lucescu then went on to describe the two players. "Messi is short and incredible in dribbling in tight areas, he has plenty of self-confidence and a change in acceleration as well which is very difficult to defend against. With Ronaldo, it's different because he's a different kind of player who loves to score plenty of goals but he also needs plenty of space to work with."

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The Romanian then added that Messi has the unique ability to change games by himself but Ronaldo needs the help of his teammates to score those goals. "The thing with Messi is that he can do plenty of things on his own, including scoring and creating. I'm not saying that Ronaldo doesn't work hard because he can do things by himself from 20 metres out or in the penalty area but he prefers to take advantage of the space created by his teammates." Lucescu concluded by stating that both Ronaldo and Messi are special and "really strong players". 

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Champions League live: Dynamo Kyiv vs Juventus preview 

Dynamo Kyiv will face Juventus on Matchday 1 of the UCL in Group G on Tuesday, October 20. The game between Dynamo Kyiv and Juventus is scheduled to kick off at 7:55 pm local time (10:25 pm IST). Cristiano Ronaldo and Weston McKennie are set to miss the clash due to positive COVID-19 tests. 

Image Credits - Cristiano, Leo Messi Instagram