Former Netherlands national team defender Edgar Davids described Lionel Messi as an exceptional footballer, while he considers Cristiano Ronaldo to be just an athlete who trains hard.
Today, both footballers' surnames are among the three contenders fighting for the title of the best football player of the year. They will be competing against Neymar, but there are fewer and fewer doubts that Lionel Messi will win his fifth "Golden Ball" award.
"Ronaldo is just an athlete. He constantly trains very hard, but can hard work achieve what Messi has? No, it's impossible," said R. Davids.
"Can you become like Ronaldo? Yes, it is definitely achievable," added former Juventus defender.
E. Davids also added that at the moment Neymar doesn't stand a chance to win the "Golden Ball" but he is already very close to it.
