Son Messi And Cristiano Vegeta! Former Arsenal Winger Settles GOAT Debate With DBZ Analogy

Last Updated:December 09, 2025, 16:50 IST

Pepe likened Messi to Goku and Ronaldo to Vegeta from the anime Dragon Ball Z, while also adding no player comes close to genius from Rosario.

Lionel Messi. (AP)

Ivory Coast winger Nicolas Pepe weighed in on the Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo debate, giving the Argentine World Cup winner the edge over the Portuguese superstar.

Pepe likened Messi to Goku and Ronaldo to Vegeta from the anime Dragon Ball Z, while also adding no player comes close to genius from Rosario.

“Cristiano Ronaldo does a lot of interviews, and he talks too much about Messi, and that’s how you see that he is number 2," Pepe said.

“You know Dragon Ball Z? Vegeta always talked like that and who never talked? Goku."

“Ronaldo has that same frustration that Messi is always ahead of him," he explained.

“As a footballer? Messi slaps everyone, he’s an otherworldly being and we’ll never see a player like him again," the former Arsenal winger said.

“In discussions about Messi and Ronaldo, I say Messi. When you talk about statistics and what each player does, there are those who might say Ronaldo, but if you’re following football closely because the experts and everyone in the field, in fact, say Messi," he explained.

“Forget the statistics, forget who jumps high, who shoots powerfully, just focus on the football itself! Messi is a crazy thing."

“Neymar at the peak of his form looks directly into Cristiano’s eyes, forget about the statistics. However, he doesn’t look into Messi’s eyes, Messi gives him two slaps on the face," he opined.

“Since we’re talking about real things here, ever since Ronaldo moved to Saudi he’s only been scoring Penalties to reach 1000 goals," Pepe added.

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