In 2019, Manchester United legend Paul Scholes picked Lionel Messi as the GOAT over Cristiano Ronaldo. Scholes couldn’t hide his admiration for the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner despite being teammates with his Portuguese rival in the past.
Ronaldo and Messi are two of the greatest footballers of all time, and their exploits in the sport have led legions of fans and players to pick one over the other. Ronaado is the more prolific of the two with 905 career goals, while the Argentine phenomenon has 843 strikes.
Scholes picked the Barcelona legend as the greatest player of all time, telling ESPN at the time (via Planet Football):
“Watching Messi against Tottenham at Wembley (in 2019) made me think about the Messi and (Cristiano) Ronaldo debate again, Messi, but Ronaldo is brilliant.
“Ronaldo is sensational at what he does, with pace and power. He scores; he takes free-kicks. But as an all-round footballer, Messi – wow, his passing – has absolutely everything.”
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi dominated world football for over a decade and claimed five and eight Ballon d’Or awards respectively.
“He plays another sport”: Former Argentina and Manchester United striker Carlos Tevez picked between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo
In 2018, former Manchester United and Argentina star Carlos Tevez picked Lionel Messi as the better player compared to Cristiano Ronaldo. The now retired striker played alongside the legendary duo.
Tevez played alongside Messi for 2572 minutes for the Argentina national team, and the pair combined for 10 goals across 47 games. He played 4998 minutes alongside Ronaldo for the Red Devils and combined with him for eight goals across 80 games.
The former Manchester City striker told ESPN via Planet Football at the time:
“Cristiano is totally different to Messi, when Leo was starting out, he didn’t touch a gym. But Cristiano was there in the morning, afternoon and evening, all the time.
“Cristiano had to work and prepare himself to be the best, while for Leo it comes naturally. Those are the greatest differences that I see between the two best players on the planet. Messi plays another sport. For Messi to score three goals [in any given game] is normal.”
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo remain active despite being in the twilight of their careers, playing for Inter Miami in MLS and Al-Nassr of the Saudi Pro League respectively.
