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ESPN pundit Shaka Hislop has claimed that he would pick Lionel Messi over Cristiano Ronaldo if he were building a team and had only one pick with no monetary restrictions. Hislop insisted that he would select Messi despite Ronaldo's superior goal record.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have won a combined 13 Ballons d'Or, with each superstar having a genuine argument for being named the best in football history.
During a segment on ESPN, Shaka Hislop was asked by co-host Herculez Gomez on why he considered Lionel Messi to be the best over Cristiano Ronaldo. Gomez pointed out that Ronaldo had greater numbers than Messi, despite not winning the World Cup and having a smaller Ballon d'Or count.
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Hislop responded:
"If at any point, right now or during the primes of their careers, if I was picking a team I'd pick Lionel Messi first. I stand by that, and while Ronaldo has the numbers to back up any claim to be the best ever, it still comes down to the fact that at any point in their careers, if I'm building a club and money is no object and I have one pick, I'd pick Mes.si"
Cristiano Ronaldo is the highest goalscorer of all time, recording 938 goals and 257 assists in 1281 appearances across all competitions for club and country. The 40-year-old has also won 36 trophies but is notably yet to win the World Cup. Moreover, he has also won five Ballons d'Or, three less than Messi's haul of eight.
On the other hand, Lionel Messi has garnered 865 goals and 384 assists in 1106 appearances across competitions for club and country. The 37-year-old has won the most Ballons d'Or in football history, as well as the most trophies (46), showing the impact he has had on his teams.
"He has everything. He’s very complete" - When Carlos Tevez snubbed Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi and named Manchester United icon as his greatest teammate
Former Manchester United star Carlos Tevez once named Wayne Rooney as his favorite teammate back in 2009. Despite having played alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, Tevez selected Rooney due to his humble upbringing and traits on the pitch.
Carlos Tevez played alongside Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United between 2007 and 2009, as well as Lionel Messi for the Argentina national team (2004-2015). The 41-year-old said (via SPORTbible):
"I’ve had the honour of playing with some great players. At United, I had Cristiano in my team and obviously, I have Messi in the national team. At Boca Juniors I had striker Martin Palermo for a teammate – he was very impressive. He was the one who put two goals past Real Madrid in Japan. But the one I like the most is Rooney. He has everything. He’s very complete."
He added:
"Plus we share the same humble origins. Although the humbleness he experienced growing up in Liverpool was obviously a bit more bearable than Fuerte Apache in Argentina, where I grew up."
Tevez and Rooney enjoyed great success at Manchester United, helping the Red Devils win six trophies across two seasons. They also had a lethal partnership up front, recording a points-per-game average of 2.26 and 10 joint goal participations.
