Alessandro Del Piero believes Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are motivated by each other, while he considers Italian Ballon d’Or candidates.
Former Juventus icon Pinturicchio was among the players presenting at today’s Ballon d'Or ceremony in Zurich, with the main award handed to Cristiano Ronaldo for a second consecutive year.
“Ronaldo's fortune is Messi and vice versa,” said the world champion at the even to Sky Sport Italia.
Alessandro Del Piero believes Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are motivated by each other, while he considers Italian Ballon d’Or candidates.
Former Juventus icon Pinturicchio was among the players presenting at today’s Ballon d'Or ceremony in Zurich, with the main award handed to Cristiano Ronaldo for a second consecutive year.
“Ronaldo's fortune is Messi and vice versa,” said the world champion at the even to Sky Sport Italia.
“Their sense of competition with each other is what drives them to push themselves to the limit. It's hard to choose between them.
“If there had been a hypothetical Italian Ballon d'Or, it would have been up between [Gianluigi] Buffon and [Andrea] Pirlo. They are the most beloved abroad.”
However, Del Piero did not agree with the decision to award the best goal of the year to James Rodriguez.
“I'd have given it to Stephanie Roche, who scored the hardest and most spectacular out of the three candidate goals.
“In the last three years I've been following football in Asia more than in Europe, and there are some talents there too.
“Today we're witnessing a transitional phase between the current great champions and the new, developing players.
“I hope there can be some batons passed between the generations, especially for the Italians.
“Italy has always been a point of reference and I hope it goes back to holding that role.”