Thierry Henry chooses between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo

What's the story?

The debate as to who the better player is between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi has gone on for a long time now and Arsenal legend Thierry Henry had his say on the matter when he was interviewed by Rio Ferdinand. When Ferdinand asks him who the best player in the world is, Henry immediately replies Lionel Messi, although he said that he also respected Cristiano Ronaldo immensely.

Henry further elaborated that for Messi football comes naturally while Cristiano Ronaldo has become one of the greatest players through hard work and dedication making the Real Madrid superstar an ideal role model for young footballers.

In case you didn't know...

The debate between Messi and Ronaldo has shown no signs of slowing down. The two of them have shared the last 9 Ballon d’Or awards between themselves with Cristiano Ronaldo claiming his 4th Ballon d’Or trophy in 2016.

Many footballers have weighed in on the debate as to who is better and fans are always eager to know a top football player’s perspective on the two great footballers.

The heart of the matter

Ronaldo and Messi are both at the peak of their careers. While the Portuguese superstar had a stunning 2016 and 2017, guiding Real Madrid to back-to-back Champions League titles and inspiring Portugal to the Euro 2016 championship, Lionel Messi also was at his usual best finishing as the top scorer in 2016 and winning the Golden Boot in La Liga last season.

Choosing between the two is almost impossible and rather than based on ability, the choice is usually made on personal preference.Henry who was even Messi's team-mate at Barcelona prefers the Argentine maestro over the Portuguese superstar.

Video

While their fans are usually at each other’s throats, Ronaldo and Messi themselves have a healthy respect for each other and their opponents as can be seen from the video above.

Author's take

A number of players, pundits and fans have weighed in on this debate and there is almost always no clear majority as to who is better. Instead of indulging in constant comparison between the two legends, it will be better if we all take a backseat and enjoy the fact that we live in the same era as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.