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#3 David Beckham
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
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.”
