Paulo Dybala risks wrath of Juve teammate Ronaldo as he's asked about Messi GOAT debate

Juventus star Paulo Dybala shares a dressing room with both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi and has remained tight-lipped when asked his opinion on the age-old 'Ronaldo vs. Messi' debate.

The Argentine forward has amassed 28 caps for his national team, many of those alongside Messi, but has also spent the better part of the last two seasons playing alongside Juventus teammate Cristiano Ronaldo in Turin.

It has given the 26-year-old a unique perspective of the two players hailed as the best of their generation but when asked whom he thinks is the more effective player, Dybala was tight-lipped.

"I'm the only player who shares a dressing room with both and people only see the tip of the iceberg, not the work beneath; they haven’t won all they’ve won because they’ve been lucky,” Dybala said to The Guardian. "And, yeah, I know people have to ask but they must know what I’m going to say."

When pushed for a response by the newspaper, Dybala held firm. "I can’t answer that," he said with a laugh, perhaps responding not exactly in the way that teammate Ronaldo would have hoped for. 

Dybala was somewhat marginalized following Cristiano Ronaldo's arrival in Turin in the summer of 2018. Prior to the transfer, Dybala was Juventus' chief creative force and scored an impressive 70 goals in 140 appearances across the seasons but once the five-time Ballon d'Or winner was added to their ranks, Dybala's impact lessened. He has scored just 21 goals in 68 appearances since, with many of those coming off the substitutes' bench.

Dybala's bit-part role in the Juve attack prompted heavy interest from some of Europe's top clubs. Both Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur pursued a transfer last summer but a move to England was decided against. His age - eight years Ronaldo's junior - suggests that, at the very least, time is on his side if he intends to wait out Ronaldo's stay in Turin, however long that ends up being.

"I was close to leaving," Dybala admits. "That was in the club’s thinking, I knew. Until the last minute, we were waiting.

"I have two years left on my contract. That’s not a short time but it’s not a long one either. We’ll see what plans Juventus have, if they think I might leave in the next market or if they want me to stay. That’s a decision for the club to make. It’s hard to know because things change in a second.

"But I’m here, at a club that has treated me well; I’m happy, comfortable. [Maurizio] Sarri’s arrival has helped. He wanted me to stay, which gave me strength when we didn’t know what would happen. I knew he could teach me, help me bring out the best in myself."