‘Messi slaps him twice’: Former Arsenal star Nicolas Pepe makes bold claim on Lionel Messi v Cristiano Ronaldo debate

Former Arsenal forward Nicolas Pepe has weighed in on the debate over who is the best player between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Pepe threw his weight behind Messi, citing his influence and dominance on the pitch.

talking Only from Riyadh YouTube channel Pepe said there are many who believe Ronaldo is superior in terms of statistics, but insisted the proper way to resolve the debate is to look beyond the numbers. The Ivorian international argued that Neymar, at his best, can match Cristiano Ronaldo, but believes Lionel Messi’s sheer footballing brilliance is what separates him from the rest.

“But in Messi and Ronaldo debates, I say Messi, you see, but when you talk about statistics and what he offers, there are many who will say Ronaldo,” he said. “Of course! But if you’re fair, really watch football, the experts say forget the statistics. This one shoots hard. Just football, Messi is crazy.

“I go further: the first Neymar looks Cristiano in the eyes. Forget the statistics. But he also looks Messi in the eyes? No, he doesn’t. I’m sorry, Messi slaps him twice. No human on Earth looks Messi in the eyes. None. Not by fantasy. This fantasy dribbling, Messi doesn’t do it. But Messi also cheats players7 or Messi cheats too8. We won’t see Ronaldo again either, yes, we won’t see it again, Messi, no way.

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo dominated the football space for almost two decades, sharing the Ballon d’Or 13 times between them. Despite being in the twilight of their careers, both are still performing at a high level. Lionel Messi is currently at Inter Miami and recently he led Inter Miami to their first MLS Cupwhile Cristiano Ronaldo plays for Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League.

When Nicolas Pepe used Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to respond to Arsenal fans’ expectations of him after record transfer

In the year 2024, Nicolas Pepe opened up about his time at Arsenal, saying he struggled to live up to the expectations of the Gunners faithful.

In 2019, Pepe joined arsenal for a club-record fee of £72million, but the 30-year-old failed to live up to his billing at the Emirates.

talking with The AthleticPepe admitted he “paid the price” for his big-money move as many expected him to rack up numbers like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. He said:

“When a club pays that much for you, the little details don’t matter,” says Pepe. “I was young; it was the first time I left France to play abroad. I had to adapt in many ways, but people don’t see that. They only see what happens on the pitch. Automatically, the first player criticized is the one who costs a lot of money. You have to keep scoring goals and assists, goals and assists. People expected 30, 40 goals and Ronaldo only did one season. that Arsenal spent a lot of money on me and I paid the price”.

Pepe has left Arsenal and currently plays for Villarreal in LaLiga. During his time at Arsenal, he scored 27 goals in 112 appearances between competitions.