Former Barcelona player Kevin-Prince Boateng has revealed he was ‘forced’ to lie and say Lionel Messi was the best player in the world while at the club otherwise he ‘wouldn’t play’.
Speaking on Rio Ferdinand’s VIBE with FIVE podcast, Boateng claimed it was ‘one of the biggest lies of my life’ as he had always supported Real Madrid growing up and ‘loved’ Cristiano Ronaldo.
‘I remember that when I arrived in Barcelona they immediately asked me who the best player in the world was. I had to say it was Lionel Messi, I lied. It was one of the biggest lies of my life,’ Boateng told the podcast.
‘Normally I always tell the truth, but I lied because it was the only way to wear the Barcelona shirt. I always supported Real Madrid when I was a teenager. I love Cristiano Ronaldo. But they told me I had to say that, otherwise I wouldn’t play.’
He also added: ‘He [Messi] is the captain but doesn’t speak. We spoke one time in the shower because he asked if it’s difficult to score in Italy because Ronaldo was there at that time, and he showed the rivalry between them.
Kevin-Prince Boateng has claimed he was ‘forced’ to lie and say Lionel Messi was the best footballer in the world while at Barcelona
The Ghanaian international also revealed a conversation he had with Messi in the showers where the Argentinian asked whether it was difficult to score in Italy where Ronaldo was playing
Boateng told Rio Ferdinand’s podcast he had grown up supporting Real Madrid and always loved Cristiano Ronaldo
‘I told him that it was more difficult that Ronaldo was there, and he scored every game for three years. People forget too easily what he’s done there.’
Boateng, whose former clubs include Tottenham Hotspur, Portsmouth F.C. and AC Milan, joined Barcelona on loan in January 2019 from Sassuolo.
The Ghanaian footballer only played five matches for the Spanish giants and scored no goals but won the La Liga trophy.
Ronaldo joined Juventus in 2018 and scored 101 goals in 134 appearances before returning to Manchester United in 2021.
Messi also went on the move that summer from Barcelona to join Paris Saint-Germain as a free agent.
The Argentinian scored 32 goals in 75 games before moving to Inter Miami in the MLS earlier this year.
