Kevin-Prince Boateng said he “wouldn’t play” if he didn’t lie and say Lionel Messi was the best player in the world when he joined Barcelona.

Boateng said on Rio Ferdinand’s VIBE with FIVE show that it was “one of the biggest lies of my life” because he had always cheered for Real Madrid and “loved” Cristiano Ronaldo. 

“When I got to Barcelona, they asked me right away who the best player in the world was,” he said. I lied when I said it was Lionel Messi. He told the show, “It was one of the biggest lies of my life.” 

“I always tell the truth, but I lied to get the Barcelona shirt.” When I was a teenager, I always cheered for Real Madrid. I really like Cristiano Ronaldo. But they told me I had to say that or I wouldn’t play.

He also said, “He [Messi] is the captain, but he doesn’t talk.” One time, we talked in the shower, and he asked if it was hard to score in Italy because Ronaldo was there. This showed how much they disliked each other. 

“I told him it would be harder with Ronaldo there, and for three years he scored in every game.” It is too easy for people to forget what he did.

Boateng used to play for Tottenham Hotspur, Portsmouth F.C., and AC Milan. In January 2019, he joined Barcelona on loan from Sassuolo.

The Ghanaian player only played five games for the big Spanish team and didn’t score any goals, but they won La Liga.

Ronaldo moved to Juventus in 2018 and scored 101 goals in 134 games before coming back to Manchester United in 2021. 

Messi also left Barcelona that summer to sign with Paris Saint-Germain as a free agent. 

Before going to Inter Miami in the Major League Soccer earlier this year, the Argentine scored 32 goals in 75 games.