"These two for me stand out alone" - Pundit provides response when asked if Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi could play in the same team

Former Manchester United defender Wes Brown has weighed in on one of football’s most debated hypotheticals – whether Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi could play together in the same team.

Despite being in the twilight of their careers, Ronaldo and Messi are still going strong with Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr and MLS side Inter Miami, respectively. To date, the pair have only shared the pitch as opponents, with their rivalry reaching its peak during their time together in LaLiga.

In an interview with GOAL, Brown, who played with Ronaldo at Manchester United, was asked whether his former teammate could ever play in the same team with Messi. Responding, Brown expressed his desire to see the duo share the same dressing room and also praised their longevity.

“I would love that,” Wes Brown said. “We talk about all these strikers over the years - [Robert] Lewandowski, [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic, [Didier] Drogba, [Wayne] Rooney - these two are completely different. You can’t even put them in the same category. They just keep on going with what they have done in the game, the goals, the assists, what they have won. You can’t really compare them to anyone else. These two for me stand out alone on many things.

“The fact that Messi is still going, he’s really enjoying his time at Miami. I don’t think it’s a competition but at the same time, it may be. No-one else can be in this competition. It’s like ‘okay, you pick me, I pick you, but you lot are not good enough to be in our league, so it’s me against him’. I think that’s brilliant.

For Wes Brown, the rivalry between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi has always been a ‘friendly competition’ that pushed the both of them to even greater heights.

“Imagine if they didn’t have anyone to compete against. Maybe you might not have seen this. Regardless of what anyone says, it’s not nasty competition, it’s friendly competition. These two guys have been the best for the last 15, 16 years. It’s been very hard, even though there are some unbelievable players in the world, to get anywhere near them,” Brown concluded.

To date, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have played against each other 36 times across club and country. So far, the Argentine icon has won most of those encounters, with 16 victories compared to Ronaldo’s 11.

“I always like to play with the best” – When Lionel Messi expressed his desire to play with Cristiano Ronaldo

While Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo shared protracted rivalry on the pitch, the two have mutual respect for each other off it. They are the only players win the most Ballon d'Or wins, sharing it 13 times between them.

In 2015, Messi was asked if he would be open to playing in the same team as Ronaldo, and his response was affirmative. He said (via SPORTbible):

"Yes, of course. I always like to play with the best, and he is one of them. I think it will be difficult for us to play in the same team, but obviously I would like to. I was lucky enough to play and participate with many very good players and, obviously, I would also like to do it with him."

Given their current age, the prospect of them playing together is very unlikely. Cristiano Ronaldo recently committed to a two-year contract with Al-Nassr, while Lionel Messi is reportedly set to sign a new deal with Inter Miami.