Liverpool full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold has told how he is using Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as inspiration to keep on improving.
The pair are considered footballing royalty having won numerous club and individual awards over the past decade.
Messi has won six Ballons d’Or trophies, while Ronaldo has won five, with the two continuing to dominate on the European scene even now in their 30s.
However, it is well documented that despite their standing in the game and the success they have had, the two never stop trying to improve and continually strive to get better.
And although the England international has already won the Champions League, Club World Cup and the Premier League, as well as being named PFA Young Player of the Year, he is using Messi and Ronaldo as a source of inspiration to continue to improve.
“For every athlete, every footballer, the mentality has to be to try and improve,” the Reds Academy graduate told Goal.
“If you look at the two best that I’ve seen, and probably will ever see, it’s [Cristiano] Ronaldo and [Lionel] Messi, and they have always wanted to improve, to achieve things individually and as a team.
“Messi’s won six Ballons d’Or and Ronaldo’s won five, but they’ve never settled and rested. They’ve never thought that they’ve done enough.
“They have that hunger and desire and determination 24/7, every day of the year. They never switch off.
“For me, that’s the example I need to be following. If they’re still doing it at their age, and to the level they are doing it, then that’s something I want to try and reach, those levels of consistency.”
Before Alexander-Arnold continued on Messi: “Even if he’s not anywhere near the ball, he’s always in your thought process.
“You’re trying to play your game, trying to attack, but he’s always in your mind because you know if they can get the ball to him then anything can happen. He can do anything from anywhere on the pitch.
“Even if he’s not looking your way, you’re concentrating because he can see things that you can’t. You have to try and see the whole pitch.
“He sees things quicker than anyone, he can read what a defender is going to do and just sidestep them as if they’re not even there. A lot of the time, it’s like he’s just playing against mannequins.
“To be honest, he could be in five or six of these categories. For 15 years he’s been doing things that have never been seen before. He doesn’t have a weakness.
“There’s nothing I haven’t seen him do, and for that reason he’s the best player ever. If I ever see anyone anywhere near him, then I’ll count myself lucky.”
