Piers Morgan chooses between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi while naming 10 greatest sporting icons of all time

Piers Morgan has chosen Cristiano Ronaldo over Lionel Messi in his list of top-10 greatest athletes of all time.

The famous journalist, while naming his top-10 greatest athletes across all sports, picked Cristiano Ronaldo as the best footballer of all time above the likes of Lionel Messi, Pele and Diego Maradona. However, the Portuguese superstar could only manage fifth spot on his list.

Morgan's list is as follows:

10 – Ayrton Senna (F1)

9 – Wayne Gretzky (Ice Hockey)

8 – Michael Phelps (Swimming)

7 – Roger Federer (Tennis)

6 – Tiger Woods (Golf)

5 – Cristiano Ronaldo (Football)

4 – Usain Bolt (Sprinter)

3 – Muhammad Ali (Boxing)

2 – Michael Jordan (Basketball)

1 – Sir Don Bradman (Cricket)

Morgan also explained why he picked Cristiano Ronaldo over the likes of Lionel Messi. He wrote:

"Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) football, the real version with the round ball that Americans call 'soccer', is the most popular participant sport in the world, so to be the best at ever playing it is an incredible challenge and accolade."

Morgan added about Cristiano Ronaldo:

"There are many candidates for the title of G.O.A.T. including Pele, Maradona, Messi and George Best. But I put Cristiano above them all. He recently broke the all-time goal-scoring record of 758 goals and is still playing out of his skin for Juventus in Italy at the age of 36. A supreme athlete and phenomenal competitor, who has won trophies in four different countries, Cristiano is the best real footballer to ever lace his boots."

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are widely regarded as the top two footballers of all time. The duo have won multiple individual accolades as well as lifted numerous trophies at both club and international levels.

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Morgan explains why Sir Donald Bradman tops his list

Morgan picked Bradman over both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi

Despite naming a list of superstars across different sports, Morgan rather surprisingly picked Sir Donald Bradman as his greatest athlete of all time.

The former Australian cricketer is widely regarded as the best batter of all time and Morgan believes him to be the greatest sportsman to ever live.

In this regard, he wrote:

"Sir Donald Bradman (Australia). 'Who?' I hear Americans cry in disbelief. To which my response is that he was a cricket player. At which point, I can hear the sound of bemused teeth-gnashing and mocking laughter fly across the pond to my office in London. 'You're seriously putting some guy we've never heard of, who played a sport we can't understand, above the likes of Jordan, Ali and Woods?' Well, yes actually. Because The Don, as he was known, was indisputably the greatest sportsman to ever live."

He added:

"His stats were ridiculous: a final batting international batting average of 99.94 runs per innings, which is an astonishing 38 runs above the next highest player. For 20 years, he bestrode the cricketing world like a colossus, mercilessly smashing bowlers and records with equal gusto. He was a 5ft 7in machine who wielded such dominance that if he had scored just four runs in his final innings, his international average would have been 100, which in cricket terms is perfection. Instead, he was out for zero, proving that nobody's perfect. But Bradman came the closest to achieving perfection of any sportsman in history. And that's why, for me, he's the sporting G.O.A.T.."

Sir Donald Bradman scored 7996 runs in 80 Test innings at a staggering average of 99.94. With a best of 334, he managed 29 centuries, 12 double centuries and 13 fifties.