‘Score, break all records & always win’ – What Cristiano Ronaldo is like as a team-mate as Juventus legend Giorgio Chiellini enters GOAT debate

The veteran Italian defender spent three years working with CR7 in Turin between 2018 and 2021. During that time, the Portuguese superstar registered 101 goals and claimed five pieces of silverware – including two Serie A titles.

Asked to explain what Ronaldo is like to work alongside, Chiellini has told FIFA’s official website: “Cristiano was a very demanding guy, who always wanted to win, and he managed to convey that to everyone. He wanted to score, break all the records and always win, which he continues to do even now. That’s Cristiano and he’s exactly as you see him. You can get to know people without experiencing them, but there were so many little things [with him] – like his dedication to small things everyday – that made it a privilege for me to have played with him for three years.”

Chiellini played with and against plenty of all-time greats over the course of his decorated playing career, and he said when asked to pick out the best of the bunch while entering the long-running Ronaldo versus Lionel Messi GOAT debate: “Among the strongest guys I’ve played with are definitely [Gianluigi] Buffon and Ronaldo. Buffon is the best goalkeeper in the history of football, while, depending on your viewpoint, Cristiano is among the top two, three, four or five in the history of the sport. He is definitely in the pantheon of football greats.

“The toughest ones I’ve faced are Messi and Ronaldo himself. A lot of people here ask me, 'Who is better: Messi or Ronaldo?', a bit like you might with LeBron James and Michael Jordan. I don't see it as a competition, both are at the top. Obviously, out of affection, I’m closer to Cristiano, having played with him, but they’re both so strong that there can't be a one and two.”

Chiellini faced Argentine superstar Messi in MLS last season, after seeing the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner link up with Inter Miami, but the 39-year-old centre-half opted to hang up his boots and retire at the end of the 2023 campaign and no longer has to worry about trying to contain superstar forwards.