David Villa. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
David Villa is one of those players who has seen the greatness of both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo on a personal level.
The three-time La Liga winner was part of FC Barcelona when Messi won three of his five Ballon d’Ors.
And Villa, when he got transferred to Atletico Madrid in the 2013-2014 season, was in the same city as Ronaldo when the Real Madrid megastar broke Messi’s Ballon d’Or streak.
However Villa said Messi and Ronaldo should never be compared to each other as they both made contributions to the game of football.
“Both are very good players,” said Villa, a World Cup winner with Spain in 2010, in a phone interview with Inquirer for History Channel’s History of Football. “It’s not right to compare both because they do a lot of good things.”
Messi and Ronaldo’s magic in La Liga saw the two tally five Ballon d’Ors each, the Portuguese already had one with Manchester United in the Premier League before landing in Madrid.
Villa, who was the second-highest scorer in the 2010 World Cup, has become a football ambassador of sorts after playing for Melbourne City in Australia’s A-League and now with New York City FC in Major League Soccer.
And the 36-year-old striker has become the global ambassador for History Channel in promoting History of Football, which will air until June 4, ahead of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
“It is really important for me to be involved in this event because this show is for everybody in the world,” said Villa.
And as Spain tries to regain its stature in world football, after a disappointing group stage exit in the 2014 World Cup, Villa said every single player in the Red Fury’s roster has to give it their all.
“I don’t like talking about individual players because you need all the players to be good,” said Villa who scored 59 goals for Spain. “I am looking forward to what the players can give to Spain.”