The greatness of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi cannot be doubted. They have even competed and mastered the individual award, the Ballon d’Or, since the last 11 years. The fans of Messi and Ronaldo always say that they are lucky to live in the era of these two players and can witness the magical touch that both of them often show.
The same thing was said by former Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde. “Messi is a genius. We are lucky to see him every day,” said Valverde. “We are fortunate to be involved in football during the era in which he is playing, we want him to pull the rabbit out of the hat every day (shows magic in football).”
Nonetheless, what about the players who have been in the same team with Messi or Ronaldo? For sure they feel even luckier, as Juventus player Paulo Dybala has said. The 26-year-old is teaming up with Ronaldo at Juventus and with Messi in the Argentina national team.
“Ronaldo is an amazing footballer and I was lucky enough to play with Messi for Argentina,” Dybala said, as quoted by Calciomercato. However, apart from Dybala, there are only 12 other players in the world who have ever been in the same team with Messi and Ronaldo. They are:
- Fernando Gago
Team with Ronaldo at Real Madrid and with Messi in the Argentina national team. - Gabriel Heinze
Ronaldo’s teammate for three years at Manchester United (MU) and Messi’s colleague in the Argentina national team. - Gerard Pique
Pique teamed up with Ronaldo while still playing at MU and saw firsthand how the Portuguese player won his first Ballon d’Or. Then he moved to Barcelona and became one of Messi’s rising friends in the club. - Andre Gomes
Gomes teamed up with Ronaldo in the Portugal national team and he was Messi’s teammate at Barcelona for two years. - Angel di Maria
One team with Ronaldo while defending Real Madrid and became part of the Argentina national team. - Carlos Tevez
Tevez felt the Premier League champions with Ronaldo and two Copa America finals with Messi. - Gonzalo Higuain
Higuain experienced team with Ronaldo at Juventus and fought alongside Messi in the Argentina national team. - Henrik Larsson
Larsson won the Champions League with young Messi in 2006 and then won the Premier League with Ronaldo after playing 13 games on loan at Manchester United a year later. - Nelson Semedo
Won consecutive Spanish League titles with Messi in Barcelona and lifted the UEFA Nations League trophy with Ronaldo in 2019. - Ezequiel Garay
Played two seasons with Ronaldo in Madrid and made his debut in Argentina in 2007 before playing in the World Cup final with Messi seven years later. - Deco
Teamed up with Messi in his early days at Barcelona and represented Portugal alongside Ronaldo. - Martin Caceres
Won the 2009 Champions League with Messi against Manchester United who was guarded by Ronaldo before becoming his team-mate during his third time at Juventus in January 2019. - Paulo Dybala.
There are now two players who will follow the players above. They are Arthur Melo, who completed his transfer from Barcelona to Juventus in August and Luis Suarez, who is currently negotiating with Andrea Pirlo’s club
