Super Eagles and Al Kholood defender William Troost-Ekong made a surprising revelation when asked to identify the toughest player he’s ever played against, Footynaija.com reports.
Troost-Ekong began his career in the Netherlands with Eredivisie side FC Groningen. Since then, he has had stints at nine other clubs including Udinese, Salernitana and Watford while also establishing himself as a key figure for the Super Eagles since his debut in 2015.
In the course of a career that has spanned over one decade, the Dutch-born Nigerian defender has come up against some of the best players in the world, including Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo while representing his clubs as well as the Super Eagles of Nigeria.
However, the Super Eagles skipper immediately named a certain Colombian forward, Duvan Zapata, as the toughest opponent he had ever played against: “The most difficult player will probably have to be Duvan Zapata,” Troost-Ekong revealed in an interview with ESPN UK.
“He played at Atalanta at the time and for one season in Italy he just had me on toast. I think home and away, I had a really tough day.
“I’ve played against some great strikers I think. Like Mbappe and Haaland and almost all the ones we see nowadays, I’ve had the chance to play against them.
“And then the other one consistently with goals has to be Cristiano Ronaldo. I think we played against each other five times. I managed to beat him twice but the other three times, he managed to get some goals against me so probably I have to give it to him.”
Now 31, Troost-Ekong currently plies his trade for Al Kholood in the Saudi Pro League where he continues to do battle against some really tough opponents including the legendary Ronaldo.