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Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are widely regarded as two of the finest players to have played the game. Both players have been standout performers for club and country, scoring goals and winning big titles.
Messi and Ronaldo have been the epitome of sustained brilliance, consistency and longevity. Despite being on the wrong side of 30, the duo has shown no signs of slowing down any time soon. They are the only players to score over 100 Champions League goals and win at least five Ballon d'Or awards.
Ronaldo won his first Capocannonieri award last season, and starred for Portugal with five goals and an assist in their unsuccessful title defense at Euro 2020. Meanwhile, Messi enjoyed another prolific club season before leading Argentina to the Copa America 2021 title, scoring four goals and providing five assists.
Both players have moved to different clubs this summer, with Ronaldo returning to Manchester United and Messi joining PSG. Nevertheless, they are widely expected to continue their stellar exploits in their new surroundings.
Over the years, many great players, former and present, have had their say on the Messi-Ronaldo debate. On that note, here's a look at five such players who picked Messi over Ronaldo:
#5 Gerard Pique
Gerard Pique has been one of the standout performers for club and country, especially in the last decade. The Barcelona centre-back is one of a handful of players to have played with both Messi and Ronaldo, winning the Champions League with both players.
Pique, who won the 2008 Champions League with Ronaldo, has won a plethora of titles, including two continental trebles with Messi. While acknowledging that both Messi and Ronaldo are a cut above the rest, it is unsurprising to see Pique pick Messi over the latter:
He told BT Sport in this regard:
“We’re not only talking two of the best players but two of the best in the history of the sport. Messi has a talent nobody else has. His speed is brutal with the ball at his feet and he doesn’t run more than two metres. It’s impossible to catch him.
“Cristiano is a very different type of player. He is tall, strong and powerful. He can do everything – take penalties, free kicks, he’s good with his head, good in one-on-ones. I always say that Messi isn’t human and Cristiano is the best of the humans.”
Pique played for more than a decade with Messi before the latter moved to PSG this summer.
#4 Angel Di Maria
Angel Di Maria is another player who has played with both Messi and Ronaldo. While the Argentine played with Ronaldo at Real Madrid, he is now playing with Messi after the latter arrived at PSG this summer.
Di Maria, who has enjoyed success with both players, has been playing with Messi in Argentinian colors for a while. The PSG winger, who scored the winner in the Copa America 2021 final, said the following about Messi and Ronaldo in two different interviews:
“Cristiano is a monster,” Di Maria told TyC Sports
As for Messi, Di Maria told Sport360:
“Messi is the best in the world – there is no question about that. “We have seen time and time again that he wins games on his own when the team is not performing, but the media expects him to always be the hero.
“When I am an old man, I will tell my grandchildren bedtime stories about when I won the Champions League, hopefully when I won the World Cup, but most of all I will tell them that their grandfather used to play with Lionel Messi.”
Di Maria has won a La Liga (2011-12) and Champions League (2013-14) title with Ronaldo. He also won Copa America 2021 with Argentina alongside Messi this summer.
#3 Ronaldinho
Ronaldinho, one of the best midfielders in football history, played a key role in the emergence of Lionel Messi as a superstar.
The 2002 FIFA World Cup winner took up the then-teenaged Argentine under his tutelage, which allowed Messi to take his first steps towards superstardom. Considering the name, it is unsurprising that Ronaldinho would pick Messi as the 'best player in history'.
He said in an interview in 2005;
“He's the best in history, no doubt. Nobody has done what Messi's done. The other one (Ronaldo) is complete, he has it all. So does Messi, but it's a question of taste, and I prefer Messi's style. I would have loved to continue playing alongside him (Messi). I didn't get enough time with him; he was very young. I'd love to take to the pitch with him one more time.”
Years later, with Messi running out of contract at Barcelona, Ronaldinho wanted the Argentine to stay on at Camp Nou.
Unfortunately, that didn't happen, as Barcelona failed to offer Messi a new contract owing to La Liga's financial fair play rules. The player then moved to Ligue 1 giants PSG.
#2 Marco van Basten
Marco van Basten was a top striker during the late 80s and 90s. He was a key player in a formidable AC Milan team during that period.
The three-time Ballon d'Or winner scored one of the best goals of the tournament in the final of the 1988 European Championship. The brilliant Dutchman also enjoyed success with Milan, winning three Serie A titles.
While he acknowledges that both Messi and Ronaldo are extraordinary players, Van Basten believes the Argentine is a generational talent, saying:
“Cristiano is a great player, but those who say he is better than Messi know nothing about football, or they are saying it in bad faith. Messi is one of a kind. Impossible to imitate and impossible to repeat. A player like him comes along every 50 or 100 years.”
Van Basten retired from the game in the mid-90s after failing to overcome a debilitating ankle injury.
#1 Diego Maradona
Diego Maradona is widely regarded as one of the best players to have played the game. The late Argentine legend managed Messi at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
Like all the others on the list, Maradona admitted that both Ronaldo and Messi are special players. Still, his preference between the two went to Messi, as the latter never 'played badly', saying:
“I can't remember having seen Lionel Messi play badly. I prefer Messi to Cristiano Ronaldo but I acknowledge that the latter is an animal. Football history will remember Messi. Football has given him a lot, as much as he has given the sport and to win a World Cup, in my opinion, wouldn't bring himself anything else.”
The two-time FIFA World Cup winner passed away last year after a heart attack. After his demise, Messi called the day of Maradona's demise a 'very sad day for all Argentines and for football'.
