Legendary Inter Milan defender Marco Materazzi revealed who the greatest footballer he has ever seen and faced is. It is not Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo.
For most football fans, pundits and former players, both are considered to be the best the sport has ever seen. One of the two is considered the best by their respective fans.
However, that was not the case for Materazzi, who chose the name of another legend who is considered the greatest of all time. The former defender was a controversial figure on the football pitch, most famously remembered for being the target of a headbutt by Zinedine Zidane.
As a result, it’s easy to forget just how great a pillar of the Italian national team’s defence truly was. He spent a decade playing for Inter Milan and was teammates with some of the best footballers on the planet during that time.
In fact, one of his former Inter teammates called Materazzi the greatest footballer he had ever seen. He claimed the player was like a combination of Messi and Ronaldo. Materazzi Calls Ronaldo Nazario the greatest footballer.
Ronaldo Nazario was a phenomenal striker in his prime as the most prolific striker on the planet. Few modern footballers can match his high level throughout his career.
Quoting Givemesport from an interview on the Rio Ferdinand Present YouTube channel, Materazzi described El Fenomeno as the best player he had ever seen. He was full of praise for his former team-mate, claiming that he was like a combination of Messi and Ronaldo.
“For me, R9 (Ronaldo Nazario) is the best. He is a footballer who combines Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. (When we played together for a year at Inter Milan (he was the best),” said Materazzi.
It was a bold statement from Materazzi. He had witnessed Ronaldo’s brilliance up close during their brief time together in Italy. In his prime, the Brazilian was explosive and had a killer instinct in front of goal.
But while wearing the La Beneamata uniform, the Brazilian national team striker was already having problems with injuries which indicated that his career would be over, but that did not diminish the extraordinary achievements he made at the start of his career on the green field.
For the likes of Inter Milan, Barcelona, ​​Real Madrid and the Brazilian national team, he was a force to be reckoned with and arguably one of the best strikers in the world. However, his time with Materazzi was short-lived. After moving to the San Siro in 1997, Ronaldo spent five years with Inter, scoring 59 goals in 99 appearances.
Things started well, but injuries hampered him in his final three seasons before he left in 2002. However, a year before he left, Materazzi joined the club.
Although the 193 cm tall defender did not play together often during his one season with Ronaldo Nazario, it was more than enough evidence for him to be crowned as the greatest player he has ever seen.
