5 Manchester United legends who chose Lionel Messi over Cristiano Ronaldo

The Cristiano Ronaldo - Lionel Messi debate will rage on for eternity. Several legends of the game, fans and pundits from all across the world have weighed in on the argument. It's always difficult to choose between two legends of the game who have accomplished as much as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have.

Cristiano Ronaldo burgeoned into a world-class footballer at Manchester United. When he first arrived at Old Trafford, the Portuguese was a mercurial winger with a lot of tricks up his sleeve. He blossomed into a prolific goalscorer with a winning mentality under the tutelage of Sir Alex Ferguson.

Cristiano Ronaldo won his first Ballon d'Or during his time with Manchester United. He played alongside some of football's modern-day greats during his Premier League stint. Ronaldo was a key player in the Manchester United side that won the UEFA Champions League in the 2007-08 season.

Several Manchester United legends have shared the pitch with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi

Two seasons later, he was also part of the side that made it to the final of the Champions League. But they lost to a Barcelona team that was led from the front by Lionel Messi. Ronaldo left Manchester United shortly after and joined Real Madrid.

Without further ado, let's take a look at five Manchester United legends who have chosen Lionel Messi over Cristiano Ronaldo.

#5 Dimitar Berbatov

Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur - Premier League

One of Manchester United's most inspired signings in Sir Alex Ferguson's latter years, Dimitar Berbatov is an adored figure at Old Trafford. The Bulgarian hitman was one of the most technically refined players of his generation.

In 149 appearances for the Red Devils, Berbatov scored 56 goals and provided 27 assists. Berbatov, who played with Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United for one season, picked Lionel Messi over his former teammate. In 2017, he told ESPNFC:

“He's the f***ing greatest. Ronaldo is brilliant, Messi is more my kind of player. He sees the game so clearly. He can score, create, he's the complete player, the best ever probably.”

#4 Paul Scholes

Manchester United v Barcelona - UEFA Champions League Semi Final

Paul Scholes is widely considered to be one of the best central midfielders of all time. The Englishman was at Manchester United for the length of Cristiano Ronaldo's stay and more. Scholes, who scored 152 goals and provided 74 assists in 710 appearances for United, however, chose Lionel Messi as the better player between the two.

Writing in his column for The Independent in 2015, Scholes explained:

"I think about the great players with whom I have shared a pitch: Eric Cantona, Zinedine Zidane, Pirlo, Xavi, Cristiano Ronaldo -- and the greatest of them all is Messi."

Scholes goes on to recall a moment during the Manchester United - Barcelona Champions League game in 2008 where Lionel Messi flitted past him with ease.

"It was a moment I will never forget. He went past me, I stuck out my leg and Lionel Messi went over. This was at Old Trafford in 2008 in the second leg of our Champions League semi-final against Barcelona and, with the score 1-0 to us, I had fouled him in our area.

"When I think about our win over Barcelona in that game, on our way to the second Champions League title of the Sir Alex Ferguson era, I always remember that tackle.

"Yes, I scored the only goal of the tie, and it was one of my better ones. But I will never forget that couple of seconds when the best footballer in the world deceived me into fouling him and I waited for the world to fall in.

"It should have been a penalty to Barcelona, and an away goal would have won them the tie. But for some reason the referee didn't give it, the game moved on and even Messi did not make much of a fuss.

"The relief was overwhelming for a few moments -- and then I was back into the game."

#3 David Beckham

Manchester United '99 Legends v FC Bayern Legends

David Beckham is among the players who immortalized the legacy of the no.7 shirt at Manchester United. He was part of the Class of '92 that won the continental treble in the 1998-99 season. The Manchester United legend scored 85 goals and provided 101 assists in 388 appearances for the club across all competitions.

He won six Premier League titles, one Champions League title and two FA Cups during his time with Manchester United. Beckham believes that Ronaldo hasn't quite reached the heights of Messi.

Speaking to Argentine outlet Telam in 2013, he said:

"He [Messi] is alone in his class as a player, it is impossible that there is another like him. He, like Cristiano Ronaldo, who is not at his level, are both above the rest."

#2 Wayne Rooney

Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo formed one of the most deadly attacking duos in the history of the Premier League. Rooney and Ronaldo ran riot for several seasons on the trot and won the Champions League together in the 2007-08 season.

However, Rooney still believes that Lionel Messi is a better player than Cristiano Ronaldo. Writing in his Sunday Times column in April 2020, Rooney said:

"Ronaldo wasn't as focused on goals when we started playing together but you could see that all he wanted was to be the best player in the world.

"He practised and practised and began to produce. Cristiano has become an incredible scorer and he and Messi are arguably the best two players the game has seen.

"Ronaldo is ruthless in the box, a killer. But Messi will torture you before he kills you. With Messi you just get the impression he is having more fun. Those two have completely changed the game in terms of goalscoring numbers and I don't think they'll ever be matched."

#1 Ryan Giggs

Manchester United v Inter Milan - UEFA Champions League

Widely considered to be one of the greatest Manchester United players of all time, Ryan Giggs is yet another legend who has chosen Lionel Messi over Cristiano Ronaldo. Giggs was a fixture in the Manchester United side during Ronaldo's time at Manchester United.

But Giggs believes that Messi is superior to his former teammate, even calling the Argentine a "once-in-a-lifetime player." When asked to pick between Ronaldo and Messi in an interview with DAZN in 2019 (via The Independent), Giggs said:

"Obviously I lean towards Ronaldo a little bit because I played with him and saw him develop as a player. But Messi is a genius, he’s a once in a lifetime player. It’s as simple as that.”

About the author

Shambhu is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda who focuses on previews, listicles and news articles. An ardent Manchester United supporter since before his teenage years, he started following the Red Devils by age 10 watching MUTV on television. Shambhu is also a highly-revered rapper and a playback singer on Spotify, having a whopping 1 million monthly listeners.

For his articles, Shambhu believes in triple-checking every piece of information, relying on trusted websites like Transfermarkt and Opta, and staying away from speculative publications. He believes that his law degree helped him to be more articulate and meticulous with his content and one of his core strengths is seamlessly involving emotion in his write-ups owing to the love for the sport. For Sportskeeda, has done exclusive interviews with Spanish legends Gaizka Mendieta and Fernando Morientes so far, and his articles boast of a huge readership of close to 50 million.

Shambhu's favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and the Argentine attaining glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment. He believes only Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland could replicate Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's rivalry in the years to come. His favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson due to the Scot's unmatched longevity at the top.

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Edited by Shambhu Ajith