Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo? When F1 legend Lewis Hamilton made his pick

F1 legend Lewis Hamilton picked Lionel Messi ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo in the GOAT debate in 2024. The Argentine maestro's rivalry with the Portuguese superstar has attained cult status in world football.

The planet remains divided on who is the greatest of all time, almost two decades after they exploded onto the scene. The GOAT debate has transcended the boundaries of football and touched other sporting personalities as well.

Lewis Hamilton was asked last year to take his pick between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. The F1 icon didn't hesitate to side with the Argentine and even explained why he preferred La Pulga.

"Messi. They are both amazing, to be honest, but I'm a Messi fan in the end," said Hamilton.

Interestingly, Lewis Hamilton has never been spotted with Lionel Messi, although he has been seen with Cristiano Ronaldo. The two of them were pictured together in 2019 at the Monaco GP.

Meanwhile, Messi and Ronaldo are both in the final year of their respective contracts. While the Argentinean's deal with Inter Miami expires at the end of this year, the Portuguese will be out of contract with Al Nassr at the end of next month.

How many times have Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi faced each other in their career?

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have faced each other 36 times in their career for club and country. The Argentine has the upper hand in their encounters, with 16 wins to the Portuguese's 11.

The two superstars of modern football faced each other for the first time in the 2007/08 Champions League semifinals. Ronaldo was part of the Manchester United team that locked horns with Messi's Barcelona.

While the game at Camp Nou ended in a draw, the Red Devils secured a 1-0 win at Old Trafford, courtesy of a Paul Scholes goal. The Portuguese would go on to lift the first of his five Champions League titles that year.

Ronaldo locked horns with Messi once again the following year, in the Champions League final. This time, La Pulga got the better of his rival and helped the Catalans secure the coveted title.

The Portuguese left Manchester United to move to Real Madrid that summer and took his rivalry with the Argentine to the next level. They last faced each other in the Champions League group stages in the 2020/21 season, when Barcelona lost 3-0 to Juventus.

About the author

Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over six years at Sportskeeda. He has written over 9000 articles for the website, and has garnered close to 20 million reads.

Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.

Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.

Deepungsu has been a Manchester United supporter since the year 2000. Unsurprisingly, his favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson and the Scotsman helped him get through some of the toughest days of his life. Like the fiery Scot, Deepungsu also leaves no stone unturned when it comes to accuracy in articles and only relies on credible sources.

Despite believing in Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland to create an iconic rivalry, Deepungsu reckons no one can match the longevity of Messi and Ronaldo. He spends his leisure time writing about life on his blog, reading books, and playing the guitar.

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Edited by Sankalp Srivastava