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Former Chelsea full-back Ashley Cole had once revealed his toughest opponent and it might not be the name you were expecting. The left-back enjoyed a successful spell at the London-based club from 2006 to 2014. During that time, Cole was known for his defensive abilities which often proved to be challenging for several Premier League strikers.
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While answering questions from fans for Sky Sports, Cole named Lionel Messi as his toughest opponent. The question read, “Ashley you have played against Messi and Ronaldo in your career, from your experience who was tougher?”. Cole promptly replied, “It has to be Messi”, throwing even the Sky Sports panellists into a state of confusion.
Ashley Cole’s decision may have come as a shock for many because a few years ago, Cristiano Ronaldo had named him as the toughest opponent he ever faced. While speaking to Coach Mag in 2016, quoted by TalkSport, he said, “Over the years I had some great battles with Ashley Cole. He does not give you a second to breathe.”
Cole said that he understood why people were expecting him to name Ronaldo as his toughest opponent. “People talk about their kind of comparison more because I played against him [Ronaldo] more”.
Cole was at his prime during the mid-2000s, an era when a young Ronaldo was moving up the ranks at Old Trafford. This led to a few intense battles between the Chelsea icon and the all-time footballing great as the duo competed for domestic trophies in England. Ronaldo also made a ton of impact in that era winning the Champions League, the Premier League and the Ballon d’Or with Manchester United.
Despite the domestic competition, Cole felt that marking Messi was a completely different challenge. “Messi was you know when he’s there he was too good for me”, the former Chelsea man concluded.
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Chelsea and Barcelona had some exciting matches in the Champions League over the years in which both Cole and Messi could be seen sizing each other up. Cole did seem to take a lot of pride in the fact that he didn’t let Messi score past him ever at Chelsea despite the Argentine being too good for the full-back. “But again he’s [Messi] never scored”, he said.
Ashley Cole signed for Chelsea in 2006 from Arsenal and enjoyed a trophy-laden stint with the English club that included two Premier League titles, one UEFA Champions League trophy and four FA Cups. He made 337 appearances for Chelsea, scoring seven goals while assisting his teammates 37 times. After a decorated career in London, Cole moved to Serie A side AS Roma in 2014.
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