• Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have dominated football for almost 20 years
• The legendary rival duo boast an incredible 12 Ballon d’Or awards
• While both players are undeniably talented, opinions on who is better are divided

For years, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have been going head to head for the title of the greatest footballer of all time.

Both veterans have dominated the football scene for almost two decades and boast an incredible 12 Ballon d’Or awards.

Fans, players and experts have long argued over which of the two football greats is the better of the pair.

To this day, millions of people around the world believe that any one of them is the greatest player to ever play this beautiful game.

In most cases, some former and current players’ opinion of these two superstars is influenced by their loyalty to the player, whether as a teammate at club level or on the national team.

However, the interesting thing is that some of Ronaldo’s former teammates strongly believe that Messi is the better player.

Here are Ronaldo’s teammates who rate Messi higher.

Luka Modric

Modric’s announcement after Croatia’s semi-final clash with Argentina at the 2022 World Cup came as a surprise considering he played alongside Ronaldo for six years at Real Madrid.

The pair enjoyed plenty of success together, winning three Champions League titles together at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

However, speaking after Croatia’s 3-0 defeat to Argentina, Modric controversially labeled Messi as the GOAT, not Ronaldo.

“I hope (Messi) wins this World Cup, he is the best player in history and he deserves it,” he said, as quoted by Mundo Deportivo.

Wayne Rooney

Rooney and Ronaldo were teammates at Old Trafford for five seasons, winning numerous accolades together, but both relationships had their ups and downs.

Therefore, the Englishman is not afraid to point out that Messi or the football GOAT is a better player.

After the PSG superstar’s dazzling performance against Croatia at the 2022 World Cup, he took to social media to say:

“Nothing has changed” with a goat emoji.

Angel Di Maria

The Argentine World Cup winner played alongside Ronaldo from 2010 to 2014 at Real Madrid. The duo won several laurels, including the Copa del Rey, La Liga and the famous La Decima, Madrid’s tenth Champions League title in 2014.

Di Maria is also Messi’s teammate from the Argentina team that won the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

When it comes to choosing the better player, Di Maria obviously believes that Messi is better, as confirmed by TyC Sports.

“It was a dream of mine to be able to play with Rooney, Ibrahimovic, Cristiano and Leo… they were players I used on PlayStation and I never imagined I would be able to play with them.”

Of the four, Di Maria said it was a difficult decision, but he ultimately chose Messi.

Paul Scholes

Scholes is another Manchester United legend who played alongside Ronaldo at Man United. They won the Champions League and many league titles at Old Trafford.

The former England midfielder scored the only goal of the match between the Red Devils and Messi’s Barcelona in the 2007/08 UCL semi-final, ultimately lifting the trophy.

However, Scholes gave his verdict on the Messi and Ronaldo debate in his column in The Independent.

“I think of the great players with whom I shared the pitch: Eric Canton, Zinedine Zidane, Pirlo, Xavi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and the greatest of them is Messi.”

Dimitar Berbatov

Berbatov was a teammate of Cristiano Ronaldo at Man United in the 2008/09 season. The pair won the Premier League title and the FIFA Club World Cup, but lost the 2009 Champions League final to a Lionel Messi-inspired Barcelona team.

In an interview with ESPNFC, Berbatov said:

“He is the greatest. Ronaldo is brilliant, Messi is more my type of player. He sees the game very clearly. He can shoot, he can create, he is a complete player, probably the best of all time.

Sergio Ramos

Paris Saint-Germain defender Sergio Ramos has become the latest footballer to take part in the Cristiano Ronaldo vs. Lionel Messi debate.

The former Real Madrid captain was Messi’s adversary for over a decade and often faced the then Barcelona superstar during El Clasico.

Ramos, who played alongside Ronaldo from 2009 to 2018 in a Real Madrid shirt, was one of the few people who could really annoy Messi when they were opponents.

However, after playing against Messi for over 15 years, Ramos admitted that the Argentine phenomenon is superior in terms of GOALS.

“For several years, playing against Messi meant suffering,” Ramos told PSG TV. “I’m enjoying it now. He is the best player football has ever produced.”

Iker Casillas

Former Real Madrid captain Casillas has strong links with Real Madrid. He was once a member of Ronaldo’s squad between 2009 and 2015, before the goalkeeper left for FC Porto.

However, the legendary Spanish goalkeeper suggested that Barcelona’s talisman is the greatest ever. He admitted this after watching the La Liga match between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in 2019.

Casillas wrote on Twitter, translated as follows:

“Football formula: goalkeeper and player (with goat emoji). Today Barca won three points at the Wanda Metropolitano. Atleti played well but lacked composure in front of goal. Blaugrana remains league leader. Atletico must fight for the Champions League zone.

Source: YEN.com.gh