It has been claimed that Lionel Messi would have won more awards in his career if he had adopted a similar trait to that of his arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Messi-Ronaldo rivalry has dominated European football for well over 10 years, with the two superstars having won the prestigious Ballon d'Or award a staggering 12 times between them.
Read: WATCH: What happened to Messi after PSG's UCL exit
Comparisons and debates about the two players are still prevalent to this day, with some arguing that Messi is now the undisputed greatest footballer of all time as a result of his 2022 FIFA World Cup triumph with Argentina.
However, Patrice Evra, Ronaldo's ex-teammate at Manchester United, believes the now-Al Nassr star eclipses the FC Barcelona legend due to one specific reason.
"I want to explain why I say Ronaldo every time. It's not because he's our brother, it's because I'm in love with work ethic," the former France international said on his ex-colleague Rio Ferdinand's FIVE YouTube channel.
"I feel like Messi, god just gave him a talent and Cristiano had to work for it. He had the talent but he had to work for it.
"If Messi had the same work ethic as Ronaldo, he would probably have like 15 Ballon d'Ors today.
"I'm just in love with people working hard, so that's why I pick Ronaldo over Messi."
Read: Pogba 'punished' by Juventus
Ronaldo is ahead of Messi in terms of goals, though, with the former having 709 club career strikes while the latter has scored 701 times for Barca and Paris Saint-Germain to date.
You must be SIGNED IN to read and post comments.
WATCH: