Jerome Boateng chooses between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo

The Bayern Munich superstar considers
Ronaldo to be the easier opponent than
Messi

What’s the story?.

Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boateng
considers Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi
the toughest attacker he has ever faced,
followed closely by Real Madrid talisman
Cristiano Ronaldo. In an interview with
German magazine Sport Bild , Boateng was
asked who was the toughest player he had
ever played against and replied, "Messi and
Ronaldo are the toughest, but I would also
place Eden Hazard of Chelsea, Neymar of
Barcelona and Karim Benzema of Real Madrid
on the list.”
“Messi simply cannot be stopped by yourself.
Ronaldo is easier because he is more about
athletic prowess. But Ronaldo has changed
his game. He now focuses less on dribbling
and more on the end product. That is more
difficult to defend against because he has
incredible timing.”

In case you didn’t know....

Jerome Boateng has been up against Cristiano
Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in plenty of high-
profile games in recent years. In perhaps his
most infamous moment, the German
defender was turned inside out by Messi in
the Camp Nou in one of the Barcelona star's
best ever goals in the UEFA Champions
League. Boateng has spoken about the
difficulty of facing Ronaldo and Messi in the
past, saying "Ronaldo, Messi, Suarez, Neymar
-- they can all smell if you're afraid to duel
with them. One whiff and then they destroy
you.

So you gotta show up."
The heart of the matter
Bayern Munich’s 28-year-old centre-back has
endured a fairly disappointing season, as
injuries have meant he has made only 13
appearances for the Bavarians. It has led to
transfer speculation about Boateng, who also
used the interview to note that his future
was at Munich.
Despite claiming that facing Ronaldo is easier,
Boateng faced the wrath of the Real Madrid
superstar in the quarterfinals of the UEFA
Champions League, as he plundered 5 goals
in two games against Bayern.
However, the memory of Messi leaving
Boateng on his backside in one of the most
high-profile games in recent memory will not
go away, and that has probably influenced
Boateng’s choice.