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Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo & Rafael Nadal ‘Cannot Be an Example’ for Youngsters, Says Former Barcelona Star

ByAnuj Nikhil Virjiani

Nov 4, 2023 | 6:00 AM EDT

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Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have entertained soccer fans with exciting soccer for many years now. They have also provided inspiration to young children to become soccer stars. Despite this, a former Barcelona star does not believe that athletes like Ronaldo, Messi, and Rafael Nadal cannot be considered an example for youngsters. Interestingly, the former player chose to praise the ‘successful situation‘ of a 33-year-old Real Madrid star.

There is no doubt that the likes of Ronaldo, Messi, and Nadal are players who will be remembered for generations after they retire. They have shown the ambition to succeed and compete to win in their respective careers. Nonetheless, this ex-Barca forward’s viewpoint is a bit different when it comes to being examples for young football fans.

The former Barca star makes an astonishing claim on Messi, Ronaldo and Rafael Nadal

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Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Rafael have risen from the very bottom to become the sports stars they are today. They have encouraged children to take sports like soccer and tennis as their careers. However, recently former Barca star Bojan Krkic while talking about his Rakuten TV documentary, entitled ‘Bojan Krkic’ praised Messi, Ronaldo, and Nadal in a very different way. He also has interestingly praised a current Real Madrid player.

Speaking about his documentary in his interview with the record website, Borja said, “It’s not a documentary only for football fans. It’s more than that. It talks about personal situations and shows that Messi is not an example. Neither Messi, Cristiano, nor Nadal are ordinary cases, they cannot be an example for football fans. young people. They are extraordinary. Success is not something that only happens to them. Success can apply to many scenarios”.

The statement from Borja on Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Rafael Nadal just shows the level they continue to perform to keep themselves in the category of extraordinary athletes. Surprisingly, he also took the name of a Real Madrid player as an inspiration despite being a former Barca player.

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33-year-old Real Madrid star praised as a success

Borja Kirkic added further in his interview, “Joselu, aged 33, arrived at Real Madrid. These situations are successful.” A number of Madrid fans did not take the signing well of Joselu. They thought that the club would sign a marquee striker like Kylian Mbappe. Joselu came on loan from relegated side Espanyol. There were doubts on him because of his poor spells in the Premier League. But, Joselu has not disappointed the 14-times European champs.

As the season has progressed, Joselu has become a beneficial signing for Los Blancos. He has scored 5 goals and provided 2 assists in 11 games in the La Liga. Joselu has proved that a player can contribute well to any team if he is in the right formation. His brilliant form has also helped him make his debut for Spain at the age of 33. The Spaniard also scored twice on his debut to help Spain beat Norway 3-0 in the Euro qualifiers. The Real Madrid star also managed to score 2 more goals in the qualifiers to score 4 goals in 8 matches. It means he has scored 1 goal in 2 matches which is good for a forward coming off the bench.

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Joselu now provides a lethal option of goals for both his club and nation at the age of 33. This is the reason, Borja sees him as an inspiration for the youngsters. So the big question is which player at your soccer club has a similar success story to Joselu? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.