Cristiano Ronaldo is undoubtedly one of the best players to grace the football world. No one can deny his presence regardless of which club you are supporting or league you are watching. 

In the last ten years, he broke all the records there is and he received all the awards there is. Perhaps one of the few players to do so.

And the most magnificent names have to say these about Ronaldo.

“When Cristiano Ronaldo gets the ball, you can just leave him to it while he beats player after player.” 

– Ryan Giggs

“There have been a few players described as the new George Best over the years, but this is the first time it’s been a compliment to me.”

– George Best

“He has magic in his boots. The first thing you notice about him is that he is incredibly quick and very, very powerful for such a young man. He has great, close control, and his technique is excellent. He believes he can do anything with the ball, and that confidence makes him very special indeed.”

– Eusebio

“He (Ronaldo) is a phenomenon, a number one, a barbarian footballer.”

– Alfredo Di Stefano

“Cristiano is a striker like we’ve never seen before.”

– Sergio Ramos

“After we played Sporting last week, the lads in the dressing room talked about him constantly, and on the plane back from the game they urged me to sign him. That’s how highly they rated him.”

– Sir Alex Ferguson

“We’ve had some great players at this club in my 20 years, but he’s up with the best.”

– Sir Alex Ferguson

“He is the best. The best in the world, yes. Probably the best ever. I saw Maradona a couple of times. I never saw Pele. But Cristiano is amazing. This man is the best. Cristiano is a goal machine. He is an incredible player. He is like Zidane, there will never be another Ronaldo.”

– Jose Mourinho

“It’s a great honour for me to play with him, you just have to pass him the ball, and he does the rest.”

– Marcelo Vieira

“There is no doubt about his quality as a footballer. I think that today  there can be no doubt that Cristiano Ronaldo is the best player in the world, the best scorer and the best forward.”

– Pele

“When you play with Ronaldo on your team, you are already 1-0 up.”

– Zinedine Zidane

“Cristiano is unique for his talent and professionalism – he is also extraordinarily consistent. [He] is an outstanding professional. He’s committed to the team and the club, he doesn’t talk much, but he is a leader.”

– Carlo Ancelotti

“The kid makes you sick. He looks the part; he walks the part–he is the part. He’s six-foot-something, fit as a flea, good-looking – he’s got to have something wrong with him. Hopefully, he’s hung like a hamster! That would make us all feel better!”

– Ian Holloway

“Cristiano is from another galaxy; he knows he’s going to score. He’s different and special.”

– Zinedine Zidane

“Cristiano is part of football heritage. He’s one of those players who, practically on his own, can put a team in a final.”

– Diego Maradona

“There are some things Ronaldo can do with a football that makes me touch my head and wonder how on earth he did it.”

– Luis Figo

“He (Ronaldo) does things I have never seen from any other player, and it really is marvellous to watch. It takes a great player to grab the bull by the horns and make things happen, but he has done it repeatedly.”

– Sir Bobby Charlton

“Cristiano Ronaldo is better than George Best and Denis Law, who were two brilliant and great players in the history of United.”

– Johan Cruyff

“(Ronaldo) is always there scoring goals in all the games and taking part in his club and [the] national side. He has been doing that for many years and whether he is at his peak or a bit below it makes no difference.”

– Lionel Messi

“[He’s] a world star in soccer like Michael Jordan was in basketball. They have both been blessed with a genius that has never been seen before.”

– Carlos Queiroz

“He makes the most difficult plays look easy.”

–  Henrik Larsson

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The perennial question remains: Which is the better football player: Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo? Messi and Ronaldo have their fair share of successes, failures, and trials throughout their football career. And the stats can only say so much.

But it’s a different scenario when the football legends themselves are the ones picking who they think is the better player between the two football superstars. From all sides of the field, though, it’s clear who they are rooting for.

1) David Beckham, a football superstar

When asked about what he thinks of the players’ performance, Beckham said, “While Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are both better than the rest, Ronaldo does not reach the level of Messi.” Beckham also said that “They have similarities in their technical skills and talent, and it is amazing for football to have them both present, but Messi is simply the best player in the world.”

2) Steven Gerrard, one of the greatest midfielders

Comparing Messi and Ronaldo, Gerrard said that, “I think they’re both operating on a different planet to every footballer that’s ever lived… But Messi for me is more of a team player. If he’s in on goal, he’ll look for a pass, as well as posting good numbers individually as well.”

3) Pep Guardiola, one of the greatest managers of all-time

Guardiola was asked to comment and has this to say: “Messi is the best, he is the best. He knows how to play, score and make the other players play. He is always there. With all the respect to all the players, first to Cristiano Ronaldo—congratulations to him for the award—I think Messi is on another level.”

4) Jose Mourinho, one of the most successful managers of all-time

Mourinho once said that “For me, the top three players in history are Messi, Pele, and Maradona.” He said this via Express. However, he also said in 2013 that “I saw Maradona a couple of times. I never saw Pele. But Cristiano is amazing. This man is the best.” He made the remarks after Ronaldo won the Ballon d’Or.

5) Diego Simeone, a legendary figure in Atlético Madrid’s history

Simeone noted that Messi performs best when surrounded by top football players. He also said, “If I had to choose between Messi and Ronaldo, then most likely I would choose Messi.”

6) Pele, one of the greatest football players of all-time

Pele, who scored more than 1,000 goals, would always choose Messi, saying “I would still stay with Messi. Scoring is important, no doubt, but if you do not have anyone to prepare, then the ball is not enough. For my team I prefer Messi. As for Cristiano Ronaldo, he’s a great goal scorer.”

Messi seems to be a favourite among the legends that even Beckham would want to sign either one of them. Beckham also said that “if you look at the way Leo and Cristiano are still playing, even at what you might think is the later stage of their careers, I don’t see it ending for them.”

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Lionel Messi is one of the best football players in the world, if not the best football player. Messi was pitted continuously against Cristiano Ronaldo.

When asked about who among the rosters of football players now are the best, Messi didn’t hesitate to give five names. How did Messi rank Ronaldo? Was he even on the list?

Let’s find out.

#5 Kylian Mbappe

Currently playing for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), Mbappe is the recipient of the Onze d’Or (the French equivalent of the Ballon d’Or) in 2019. He was also the French Ligue 1’s Top Goalscorer and Player of the Year for the 2018-19 season.

He has appeared in 109 games since 2015 and has scored 66 goals in total. Mbappe holds the record of being the youngest scorer in World Cup, at only 19 years old.

Mbappe idolizes Ronaldo and hopes to emulate his playing style and techniques. His football style of play was often compared with that of Thiery Henry.

#4 Neymar

Neymar also plays for PSG, although he was playing football since 2009. He also played for the Brazil national team since 2010. He received the World’s Best Playmaker Bronze award in 2017. 

Dubbed as the next Pele, Neymar has 262 league appearances and with 156 goals. He has excellent playmaking skills as well as creating play chances for his teammates.

Neymar was the third highest-paid athlete, according to Forbes 2019, next to Messi and Ronaldo. Messi primarily inspired him.

#3 Eden Hazard

Hazard is a Belgian football player who recently transferred to Real Madrid. He was playing professionally since 2007 but was already a part of the Belgium national team since 2006, specifically Belgium U15.

Hazard has a total of 392 league appearances with 121 goals. He maintains a 100% penalty record of his 16 penalties, becoming the only football player in Europe who had over 15 penalties and scored all of them.

He was given the Player of the Year award at least eight times. In 2018, Hazard was named the Belgian Sportsman of the Year. He became the new face of FIFA 19, taking over from Ronaldo.

#2 Luis Suarez

Suarez started his senior career in 2005 and has played with five clubs including Liverpool and Barcelona. He was with the latter since 2014.

Despite the dirty tactics associated with his name from diving and stamping to biting, Suarez remains to have remarkable technical abilities in the field. He scores goals through his powerful shot.

He appeared in 439 league matches, with 301 goals. Suarez was named player of the month, season, tournament, and year at least eleven times.

#1 Sergio Aguero

Aguero was playing professional football since 2003. He transferred from Atletico Madrid to Manchester City in 2011 and remained with the club since.

Considered as one of the best strikers of all-time, Aguero is also a prolific goalscorer. He appeared in 469 league matches, scoring a total of 260 goals.

Aguero regards Messi as a brother, as cited in his book, Born to Rise. Messi provided the foreword for the said book.

Messi continued that he and Ronaldo are a different league, so to speak. He ranks Ronaldo as one of the top players beside him.

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