"They were just brilliant" - Ex-England striker names 2 stars who were on the same level as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo
Former England and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey has claimed that Pablo Aimar and Juan Roman Riquelme were on the same level as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Both players won over 50 caps for Argentina and spent large chunks of their career in Spain's LaLiga.
Speaking to SPORTbible, Heskey recalled facing Aimar with the England under-21s and not being able to get near him.
“The only opponent I played against who I thought would be on the level as Lionel Messi was Pablo Aimar. He was on that level, but not as high profile as Messi. He was outstanding. I played against him in the England Under-21s, couldn't get near him," he said.
Heskey went on to describe his experience playing against Riquelme, recalling how the Argentine was able to maneuver the ball despite his smaller stature.
“I played against Juan Roman Riquelme, and we just couldn't get near him. I was bigger than them and I was thinking I could run around them, they were just outstanding, the way they manoeuvred and manipulated the ball, they were just brilliant," he said. "Players like that stood out for me, I thought they could be superstars on the same level as Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.”
Interestingly, Heskey never faced Lionel Messi in his career with club and country. The Englishman, however, played against Cristiano Ronaldo nine times. He ended up on the winning side just once – when Liverpool beat Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford in the 2003/04 season.
When Emile Heskey claimed Liverpool star was trying to be like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo
Speaking on Sky Sports in 2018, Emile Heskey felt that Mohamed Salah was trying too hard. He opined that the Liverpool forward was trying to be like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo and said (via Telegrafi):
"He's scored 17 goals so far (in the Premier League), so you can't say he's having a bad season, but maybe he's trying too hard. Don't forget that last season we talked about him the same as about Messi and Ronaldo, that's why it probably got into his head and he wants to score goals like them."
Heskey won 62 caps for Engalnd, registering seven goals and 12 assists. At club level, he is best known for his time at Liverpool. He represented the Merseyside giants on 223 occasions, scoring 60 goals and assisting 30 more.
