‘I always thought that Messi was better than Ronaldo, but after I had practice with him, I knew I was right’: Aboubakar leaves Al Nassr on a spicy note

 The striker will depart the club due to a Saudi League rule which states that a club can register up to 8 foreign players.

The Messi-Ronaldo debate has been spiced up again per reports originating from Saudi Arabia, quoting Vincent Aboubakar, who picked the Argentine captain over his Portuguese rival. (Reuters)

With Al Nassr terminating forward Vincent Aboubakar’s contract after signing Cristiano Ronaldo, the Cameroon international may have had the last laugh in the exchange.

Mundo Deportivo quoted reports from NTV Spor that Aboubakar has conceded, “I always thought that Messi was better than Ronaldo, but after I had practice with him, I knew I was right.”

The 30-year-old made 34 appearances for the Saudi club since joining in 2021 and scored 12 goals.

The striker will depart the club due to a Saudi League rule which states that a club can register up to 8 foreign players. In order to include Ronaldo in the squad, the club would have had to release one of their existing foreign players and they were aware of it while signing the Portuguese talisman, the report stated.

Aboubakar has mutually agreed to terminate his contract and will be compensated by the club, according to reports in France, quoted by the Daily Mail report.

Ronaldo will, however, have to wait until January 22 before he can make his debut for Al Nassr due to him currently serving suspension because of the time he smashed an Everton fan’s phone out of their hand whilst leaving the pitch at Goodison Park in November.

Ronaldo has already sat out one of the 2-match ban during Friday’s 2-0 win over Al-Ta’ee and will also miss playing against Al Shabab on January 14. He will resume in the 14th round of the Saudi Arabian League against Al Ettifaq on January 22.

Meanwhile, according to Saudi publication OKAZ, Manchester United are looking to bring one Aboubakar to Old Trafford in a short term deal.

First published on: 10-01-2023 at 08:56 GTM