Real Madrid Legend Guti: Lionel Messi 'Has More Talent' Than Cristiano Ronaldo

Real Madrid legend Guti has said Lionel Messi "has more talent" than Cristiano Ronaldo, but the Portuguese player boasts "more ambition." 

Messi and Ronaldo have dominated the footballing landscape over the last decade, winning five Ballons d'Or apiece and eight of the last 11 UEFA Champions Leagues.

For nine seasons they also went head-to-head in La Liga, until Ronaldo left Real Madrid for Juventus last summer.

Real have struggled without the former Manchester United man in 2018-19. They are already out of the Champions League and Copa del Rey, and sit 13 points behind Messi's Barcelona in the league.

MARCO BERTORELLO/Getty Images

Guti, who is assistant manager at Besiktas, said he would choose "both" when asked to pick between the superlative pair, and he praised Ronaldo for going toe-to-toe with Messi despite not boasting the same amount of natural talent, per Marca (h/t Sacha Pisani of Goal): 

"It is true that I recently tweeted that I chose Messi, but I value highly what Cristiano has done. He is a great player. Messi has more talent, Cristiano is more of a goalscorer, more ambition, he is a self-made player. It is incredible that in the era of Messi, he has been able to win five Ballons d'Or. He has been massively important, as he showed at Real Madrid.

"He has been an important factor, above all for his goalscoring productivity. Especially in big games. Real Madrid have missed Ronaldo."

In his nine seasons in La Liga, Ronaldo, 34, netted 311 league goals in 292 appearances, an average of 35 per season.

In 2018-19 in Serie A, he has yet to hit 20, returning 19 goals in 26 appearances before picking up his recent injury.

Messi, on the other hand, has already got to 32 in La Liga in just 28 appearances.

As a result, the 31-year-old Argentinian has just overtaken Ronaldo in the all-time standings:

When Messi and Ronaldo call time on their respective careers it will mark the end of a remarkable era of European football when arguably the two greatest players of all time were plying their trade at the top level.

Guti's assessment of the duo is likely to be shared by many.

Messi's natural abilities are astonishing and have been the key reason for Barcelona's huge success over the last decade.

Ronaldo, meanwhile, has shown ambition in playing in three different major leagues with United, Real and Juventus, and he has made the most of his talent with incredible hard work and conditioning.