A Serie A defender has named the five toughest opponents he has faced in his career, and explained why superstar Lionel Messi is last on his list.
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Kostas Manolas, who plays for Roma as well as the Greece national team and has come up against some of the world's best attackers, listed Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Luis Suarez, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo as the four most difficult opponents he has faced.
"Ibra is a force of nature, you practically can't keep up with him during the match because he has an incredible physicality," he told Roma's official website.
"I faced Suarez this year in the 2015/16 Champions League against Barcelona. He is someone who wants to score and who sees the goal. He is ferocious, tough to keep at bay and lethal in front of goal.
"Benzema is also a difficult opponent. He is complete, because he is physically strong and very technical. When physicality and quality come together, it isn't easy to find the answer for us defenders.
"Cristiano Ronaldo is a phenomenon. He has everything – dribbling, knows where the goal is, physical strength.
"During the tie against Real Madrid last year, he had two chances across the home and away legs and he scored. Lethal."
The 25-year-old then explained why he placed Messi last in the list.
"He is not an out-and-out striker, so I haven't marked him directly and it's only because of that that I put him in fifth place in this list, but he speeds through opponents like bowling pins and in front of goal, he always knows the right thing to do, whether it be to shoot or pass to an unmarked teammate. He always finds the best way," he added.
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Manolas has made 97 appearances for Roma, scoring two goals and assisting a further three strikes.
Which of these attackers do you think it would be the toughest to play against? Let us know in the comments section below.
