10 Stars Who Played With Ronaldo But Said Messi Was Better

With there often being truly a bias in the eternal Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo debate, listed below are 10 big names who played club football with the Portuguese superstar but nonetheless thought his long-standing rival Lionel Messi was an improved player.

While it is a debate that might never be settled, fans will argue their preference between Messi and Ronaldo before cows come home, perhaps hoping to convert each other. The Argentine’s supporters hold firm their belief that he's the greatest ever, as the Portuguese’s followers feel his success in different countries makes him the best.

Thought it really is unlikely there will ever be considered a clear conclusion, though we accept there doesn’t must be, the conversation surrounding two of the world’s most dominant footballers does get interesting when their fellow peers weigh in, and much more interesting when players who shared a dressing room with one for a great number of years prefers the other.

In this case, there are plenty former colleagues of Ronaldo who hailed Messi as the best ever, though it should be noted that three of these who feature in our 10-men gallery starred alongside the Blaugrana captain on the international stage.  

In 2019, Ryan Giggs told DAZN that he obviously leans "towards Ronaldo a little bit because I used him and saw him develop as a player," but that Messi is a genius, a once-in-a-lifetime player. It's as simple as that."

In a recently available interview, Ronaldo’s former strike partner Wayne Rooney said "despite my friendship with Cristiano, I'd go for Messi. It's for the same reason I loved watching Xavi and (Paul) Scholes: it's different things in Messi's game."

Another former Manchester United legend, Paul Scholes, once sided with Messi, saying: "I believe about the great players with whom I have shared a pitch: Eric Cantona, Zinedine Zidane, Pirlo, Xavi, Ronaldo and the best of them all is Messi". Rio Ferdinand feels the same way, once discussing the Argentine as an opponent he could not get near.

This past year, the Juventus striker’s former colleague Iker Casillas declared Messi as the greatest ever, while Raul Gonzalez, who he played just one season with, once said "I was fortunate to play with Zidane, Ronaldo, Figo, Cristiano but Messi differs."

Brazil icon Kaka feels the same way, revealing his Messi preference in a recently available interview, while Gonzalo Higuain, Angel Di Maria and Carlos Tevez, who all shared a changing room with the Portuguese icon, picked their countryman over him.