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30th September 2024
01:47pm BST
The age-old debate over who is the GOAT between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi feels like it has been raging since time began.
Now, an interview from 2015 has resurfaced where the greatest manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, gives his thoughts on the matter.
Messi made his name at Barcelona where he rose through the youth system and made his senior debut in 2004.
He remained at the Camp Nou until 2021 and during that time he scored 672 goals in 778 games, winning 10 La Liga titles and four Champions League crowns.
On an individual level, he has won a record eight Ballon d’Ors.
In more recent times he has enjoyed successful spells at Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Miami.
Furthermore, he has won two Copa Americas and one World Cup with Argentina.
Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo has won five Ballon d’Ors and a record three UEFA Men’s Player of the Year Awards.
Ronaldo moved to Manchester United in 2003 from Sporting Lisbon for the first time for more than £12m, going on to win three Premier League titles and the Champions League.
He departed for, what was then, a world record fee of £80m in summer 2009, joining Real Madrid where he regularly came face to face with Messi.
He made 438 appearances for Madrid, scoring 450 goals. He won four more Champions League titles and two La Liga trophies.
He left for Juventus in 2018 before returning to United in 2021, departing under a cloud in late 2022.
In total across his two stints with the Reds, Ronaldo made 346 appearances, scoring 145 goals.
Sir Alex Ferguson was a big admirer of the striker especially while he managed him during his first spell. He also persuaded the star to return to the Manchester club in 2021.
The United boss spoke to the Manchester Evening News in 2015, two years after he retired, sharing his thoughts on who he believed was the better footballer.
He said: “People say who is the best player in the world? And plenty of people quite rightly say Messi - you can't dispute that opinion.
“But Ronaldo could play for Millwall, Queens Park Rangers, Doncaster Rovers, anyone, and score a hat-trick in a game.
“I'm not sure Messi could do it. Ronaldo's got two feet, he's quick, great in the air, he's brave - Messi's brave, of course. I think Messi's a Barcelona player.”
There you have it, Sir Alex Ferguson has spoken and who could argue with the greatest manager in the world?
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