Frank Lampard has stated that he "feels awful" for ignoring Manchester United great Cristiano Ronaldo out of his 2 hardest opponents in his remarkable career.
When Sir Alex Ferguson signed Cristiano to Old Trafford in 2003, the 43-year-old Chelsea veteran witnessed him break onto the scene.
In the 2008 Champions League final, Lampard faced the 5 Ballon d'Or winner, which culminated with a historic United victory versus Chelsea in Moscow.
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Former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho says he has never faced Ronaldo "at his prime," claiming that he did so after moving to Real Madrid.
Lampard also stated that Lionel Messi of PSG and Ronaldinho of Brazil were the top two opponents he had faced in his career.
He said the All To Play For podcast that he had two favourites: Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
And I pity Ronaldo because, despite everything he's accomplished in big games, winning finals, and so on, I thought it's such a close call.
“However, I won't play Ronaldo at his best against him [Messi].” I used to play him at Manchester United when he was on the verge of breaking through, and not at Real Madrid, where he was really absurd.
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“I didn't actually come up over him at the time, and I think like I did with Messi and I never got too close to him, and he was just incredible.”
Another is Ronaldinho, since when we visited the Nou Camp in 2005, it was my first contact with a player from another planet.
“On that day, he and [Samuel] Eto'o, but especially Ronaldinho's performances.
"Well, this is unique," I thought.. "Well, this is amazing," I thought.
While his career at Chelsea, Lampard won 3 Premier League crowns, a Champions League, a Europa League, 4 FA Cups, and 2 League Cups.
After leaving Chelsea in 2014, he went on to play for Man City and New York City before retiring from sport in 2017.
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