Wesley Sneijder Says He Could Have Matched Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo

Wesley Sneijder has said he could have reached the same levels as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo if he had been more committed. 

The ex-playmaker retired in August:

He finished his career at Qatari club Al-Gharafa, but he established himself as a global star at Inter Milan, for whom he played a key role in their Serie A, Coppa Italia and UEFA Champions League treble win in 2009-10.

That was the peak of Sneijder's career. He subsequently moved to Galatasaray in 2013, with whom he won two Turkish Super Lig titles.

He believes, though, that he could have been like Ronaldo and Messi, who have dominated the European football landscape for more than a decade, as he told Fox Sports NL (h/t Josh Thomas of Goal):

"I have to be honest and admit that I could have been mentioned in the same breath as Messi and Ronaldo if I had been 100 per cent committed. I know that. But I did not want to do that, and I have no regrets about it. It's not that I didn't have it in me, but I simply didn't want to do it.

"I enjoyed my footballing career as it was, both on and off the pitch. I won every trophy I could win at club level, so I have no regrets at all. I am a team player, and I like to be successful as a team. People still approach me to tell me that they feel I should have won the Ballon d'Or in 2010, but I keep telling them that winning the Champions League was nicer than an individual trophy.

"Of course, it would have been the icing on the cake, but it's satisfying enough that people tell me I should have won it."

Sneijder, 35, came fourth in the voting for the 2010 Ballon d'Or, behind winner Messi and his Barcelona team-mates Andres Iniesta and Xavi.

The Argentinian and Ronaldo shared the award between them for 10 consecutive years between 2008 and 2017 before Luka Modric's win last year:

The duo's remarkable consistency is what marks them out as the best players of their generation.

During his career, Sneijder came closer than most to matching the kind of quality Ronaldo and Messi produce on a regular basis.

As well as club success, he impressed for Netherlands, whom he represented at six major tournaments. At the 2010 FIFA World Cup, he scored five goals as Netherlands finished runners-up to Spain.