Former England boss Fabio Capello has named the three footballers he considers to be geniuses, but has omitted Cristiano Ronaldo from the list.
Capello praised the Portuguese star’s talents on the pitching his ability to win football games, but he wasn’t included in the Italian’s pantheon of footballing greats.
Does Ronaldo deserve to be included in Fabio three? Four things to know…
- Capello excluded Ronaldo when describing the “three geniuses of football,” which included Lionel Messi, Diego Maradona and Pele.
- The Juventus forward has won five Ballon d’Ors, the same number as Messi.
- Ronaldo developed later than Messi and has scored two fewer goals in 95 more games across all competitions.
- If one of Capello’s criteria is goals scored then the Portugal international has scored a lot more goals than Maradona – 287 more.
According to the 72-year-old former Real Madrid coach, the three geniuses of football are Lionel Messi, Diego Maradona and Pele.
“There are three geniuses in football: Pele, Maradona and Messi. Period. Ronaldo is very strong as he lets you win everything, but Messi is a genius and something else,” Capello told SportBible.
“I faced Messi when he was 16 years old and I was amazed. He did the same things he does today, but 20 years younger because he was born a genius.
“He invents things that others don’t see. Ronaldo has made himself a champion, but not a genius.”
Ronaldo, 33, has won the Ballon d’Or five times – the same number as Messi – and the forward demonstrated his qualities again midweek when he notched a hat-trick to secure Juventus’ place in the Champions League quarter-finals.
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Messi pays tribute to Ronaldo
Even though Messi is a the kind of genius that Capello believes is only matched by Maradona and Pele, Messi was full of praise for his only rival at the top of world football after the Portugal international’s hat-trick.
“I thought that what happened with Cristiano and Juventus was incredible,” Messi said. “I thought maybe Atletico would be stronger, but Juventus overwhelmed them and Cristiano had a magical night with the three goals.”
Messi can feel comfortable when patronising Ronaldo, as the Barca superstar has been streets ahead of him this season. Both players have made 36 appearances across all competitions, but Messi has as many goals as games while Ronaldo has only notched a respectable-by-anyone-else’s-standards 24 this term.
The post Fabio Capello picks out the “three football geniuses” appeared first on Squawka News.
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