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Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos has revealed shocking details about the rivalry between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
In the ongoing debate over football's greatest of all time (GOAT), one is typically either on Team Lionel Messi or Team Cristiano Ronaldo.
Historically, the stance among fellow professional players often depended on whether they had been teammates with either player during their careers.
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Kroos breaks forbidden rule to call Messi GOAT ahead of Ronaldo
Toni Kroos a former teammate of Ronaldo, once praised the Portugal captain as greatest of all time, admitting it was 'forbidden' to do otherwise.
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"We were not only team-mates but also neighbours in the dressing room and neighbours in private. He lived right next to me. Seeing what a perfectionist he is was impressive. That is why it was forbidden for me to name Messi."
However, after Messi's World Cup win in Qatar last year, Kroos has changed his tune.
"Messi now deserves it because, in terms of individual performances in a World Cup, I've never seen a footballer play as well as he did.
You have to take into account that he has never played for clubs that I like, something that proves that I mean it.”
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