The former Real Madrid shot-stopper has heaped praise on the prolific pair but insisted that he would not have feared facing either player
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been described as “football monsters” by Paco Buyo but the Real Madrid legend does not believe that the pair are quite on the same level as Diego Maradona.
The prolific forwards are both back in La Liga action on Sunday as Barcelona kick off their campaign at Athletic Bilbao, while the Rafael Benitez era at Madrid will begin at Sporting Gijon.
Buyo, who spent 11 years at the Santiago Bernabeu between 1986 and 1997, believes that Messi and Ronaldo are capable of destroying any back-line but, having gone up against Argentine icon Maradona in his heyday, insists that he would not have feared facing either player.
“Leo and Cristiano are players with different characteristics,” the 57-year-old told Omnisport.
“When I was Real Madrid goalkeeper I had the fortune to face - with the greatest of respect to Messi and Cristiano - the best player of all time: Diego Maradona.
“Maradona had similar characteristics to Messi and most of the time I was the ‘winner’ in the duel. Therefore, you can’t be scared of any player.
“But the power of these football monsters is massive. And they enjoy a goalscoring fortune in La Liga and, essentially, both can cause one's defence many, many problems.”
Messi inspired Barcelona to a treble last season, netting 58 times in 57 appearances in all competitions, while Ronaldo racked up a career-high 61 goals in 54 outings.
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