In a recent interview for UEFA.com, Nuno Gomes spoke about two of Portugal’s , and arguably the world’s, best players: Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Figo. Both talents came from Sporting CP, but then took different paths.
CR7 and Figo played together on Portugal’s national team in the 2006 World Cup, though the latter was departing, while the former was rising to deity.
The student surpassed the teacher - Ronaldo takes on Figo's role as the leader of the Portugal
The forrmer Benfica striker stated:
“Figo during his time was the best and Cristiano is the best at the moment.”
Ronaldo reminds everyone that he is present for Portugal, after scoring the decisive goal against Sweden in the World Cup playoffs
While Figo collected an astonishing 127 caps for his national team, Ronaldo leads as all-time top-scorer for Portugal, with an incredible 49 goals.
The three talents Gomes, Ronaldo and Figo training with Portugal years back
The two, despite being both wingers, had a tremendously different playing style. On one hand the current Balon D’Or holder is pure power and skills, while Luis Figo relied more heavily on his amazing touch and superb vision.
With regards to the difference between the Portuguese stars, Nuno Gomes said:
“Figo had more brains but Cristiano has more power.”
The two football masters' numbers compared
As it stands right now though, it seems likely, if not certain, that Real Madrid's number 7 will overtake Figo and his records, as CR7 already won one more Ballon D'Or than the retired player, and is not even close to retiring.
