Which do you prefer Messi or Ronaldo?

A question posed by a Turkish youth to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during an election rally that took place yesterday, Sunday, on the campus of Erzurum University in northeastern Turkey.

President Erdogan answered the question indirectly, hinting that Cristiano Ronaldo did not get his full chance, as he played a few periods during the Qatar 2022 World Cup, compared to Lionel Messi, who played all matches completely.

"They eliminated Ronaldo. Unfortunately, they applied political sanctions on him. Ronaldo is a person who defends the Palestinian cause," Erdogan said.

(Messi mi? Ronaldo mu?)

Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan: Ronaldo'yu harcadılar.

Maalesef siyasi yaptırım uyguladılar.

Ronaldo, Filistin davasına sahip çıkan birisidir https://t.co/CQAOyYs88g pic.twitter.com/vWl1U5kHH1

- Star Gazetesi 🇹🇷 (@stargazete) December 25, 2022

Erdogan touched on putting Ronaldo on the bench during the Portugal matches in the Qatar World Cup 2022, indicating that he was psychologically affected by this movement, "They neglected Ronaldo, unfortunately they imposed a political boycott on him, so when you put Ronaldo on the field 30 minutes before the end of the match, you destroy him psychologically." It takes away his energy."

In response to a question about comparing the Argentine star, Lionel Messi, to Ronaldo, the Turkish president said, "They cannot be compared. The latter was subjected to a political boycott and Ronaldo defends the Palestinian cause, and I heard that he intends to play in Saudi Arabia."

As for the final match that took place between Argentina and France, Erdogan said, "I told (French President Emmanuel) Macron, you should not be sad, because Argentina played wonderfully and deserved the title. The Argentine national team was wonderful in penalty kicks, and Messi's experience appeared in the final."

Erdogan touched on the performance of French star Kylian Mbappe, saying: "The future is Mbappe. He is currently 23 years old."

Erdogan is a former soccer player

It is known that President Erdogan loves football from a young age, and at the beginning of his youth years, he was one of the players in the football team of the Turkish Public Transport Corporation.

Durmak yok, gollere devam… 🇹🇷 pic.twitter.com/i5f10sfHtT

- Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (@RTErdogan) February 22, 2021

Erdogan, who had the number 5, almost moved to play with the famous Turkish team, Fenerbahçe, after he drew attention to his athletic skills, but his father's disapproval prevented that.

Despite his early retirement from football and his turn to politics, Erdogan always longs to practice his favorite hobby in the world of the round witch.

In July 2014, Erdogan appeared in a sports uniform during the opening of the "Basaksehir" stadium in Istanbul, where he showed off his football skills.

At that time, Erdogan played for 15 minutes (first half time) of the match, during which he managed to score 3 goals for his "Orange" team, which defeated its "white" opponent, 9-4.

During that match, the Palestinian flag fluttered in the stands, and the fans cheered against the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.