Giorgio Chiellini has heaped praise on Cristiano Ronaldo – despite being less than complimentary about the Manchester United star in the past.
Ronaldo played for three years alongside Chiellini during his time at Juventus, before making his return to United last summer. During his spell in Turin, the Portuguese superstar continued his remarkable goal-scoring feats as he helped Juve to two Serie A titles.
Having left the club last year though, with the Old Lady having failed to win the title, Ronaldo has found himself coming in for some criticism from his former team-mates. Chiellini and defensive partner Leonardo Bonucci have both hit out at the five-time Ballon d’Or winner for the manner in which he left the club, and for his impact in Italy.
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Chiellini, however, looks to have changed his tune somewhat. Speaking in an interview with The Times, the 37-year-old praised his former teammate and compared him to long-time rival Lionel Messi.
“Cristiano and Messi are aliens. Not from the herd,” Chiellini said. “I was lucky enough to play with Cristiano at Juventus for three years and seeing him day by day, you understand some of his secrets.
“He works every day to achieve his goals, and finds new goals all the time. In the big moments, when you need him, he is there.
“In the end, he’s just a single player. If Cristiano is in a team that supports him and plays better than the other, you can be sure he’ll get the goal.”
Chiellini’s comments come after Ronaldo broke the record to become the highest goal-scorer of all time recognised officially by FIFA. The Euro 2020 winner though hasn’t always been so complimentary of the Portuguese superstar.
Speaking back in January about Ronaldo’s departure from Juventus, Chiellini said: “I expected a difficult season after his exit, but we are almost the same team as last season, with Locatelli and Kean and without Cristiano.
“We can reach our targets with hard work, but we should never feel inferior and not burn mental energies, which is something we we're not accustomed to doing anymore. That’s the most difficult thing.”
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