At Cristiano Ronaldo's Age, It Will Be Hard For Lionel Messi To ...

Robert Lewandowski doubts Lionel Messi's ability to continue scoring the number of goals he has been  |  Photo Credit: AP

Key Highlights

• Lionel Messi has been going through a torrid run at PSG, both in terms of form and fitness

• Robert Lewandowski feels Messi's goals will further dry up as he ages

• In comparison to Messi, Ronaldo has been scoring a lot many goals despite being 2 years older

Crowned as the best player in the world by 'FIFA The Best', Robert Lewandowski is the man who has continued to grab headlines over the last two years. The Bayern Munich forward isn't just breaking records on the pitch but creating a legacy for himself leaving the all-time greats Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo behind with his superlative performances.

Lewandowski, who has constantly been in comparisons with Ronaldo and Messi over the last couple of seasons, remains a big fan of the duo. However, as far as longevity goes, the Polish international doesn't feel Messi would be able to maintain the goalscoring level that he has had for the most part of his career, in comparison to Ronaldo.

Speaking to Polish outlet Pilka Nozna, the Bayern forward was asked about the drop in the performance levels of Ronaldo and Messi. While the Portuguese is struggling to impose himself at Manchester United the way he was at Juventus or Real Madrid, the Argentine only has one league goal for PSG this season so far.

It also has to be noted that Ronaldo is 3.5 years elder than Lewandowski while Messi is 1.5 years older. But, if a comparison between the Argentine and the Portuguese is done, the Pole is of the opinion that the PSG forward will find it hard to keep racking up the number of goals he was so far.

“Cristiano is three and a half years older than me and still scores a lot. But he changed the club, he changed the tactics and his team is not always successful. When his team regains its balance, he can return to score goals. He used to have great numbers, impossible numbers, today they are ‘just’ very good numbers. Probably he won’t score 60 goals in a year anymore, but with 30 and 40 he still makes a difference,” Lewandowski was quoted as saying by the Polish publication on Ronaldo.

About Messi, who has had his fair share of injury troubles this year too, Lewandowski feels scoring as consistently as Ronaldo does at the latter's age, will be a much more difficult task.

“The expectations on him are quite different. Messi is a different type of player. At Cristiano’s age it will be more difficult for him to stay at his goalscoring level,” said the 33-year-old.

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Robert Lewandowski on his own fitness:

As far as Lewandowski's own journey is concerned, the Bayern striker is following the Ronaldo path by taking extreme care of his health. In fact, the Pole feels his best days are still ahead of him.

"No, it does not (on being asked if his peak is behind him). I have better performance test results now than last year. In light of the data, it looks like my top form is still about to come. I feel better than two years ago."

"My age blurs the picture of my physical condition. For 12 years or so, I have been working hard to not end my career at this age, but to continue to develop and to push my limits. I think I've managed to do that," said the 2021 FIFA The Best winner.