Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi? When Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold picked between the two GOATs
Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold quite easily decided in favor of Lionel Messi when he was asked to pick between the Argentine and Cristiano Ronaldo. He also opined that the 37-year-old World Cup winner was the best ever to have played the game.
Messi is an incredible athlete who has won the Ballon d'Or trophy eight times, on three occasions more than his Portuguese rival. Speaking about the two superstars, the Reds defender was quoted as saying by Daily Mirror in July this year (via @AlbicelesteTalk on X):
"It has to be Messi for me. The best player I've played. The best player that's ever played the game. To imagine anyone better than what I've been able to see, my brain doesn't comprehend it. There's no way anyone can be better."
"Lionel Messi is the greatest ever to play this game. There's just a different feeling playing against him that I've never felt with anyone else. You're always on red alert when the ball is near him, I think it's very rare for a player to put that feeling into other players so, for that reason I have to say it's him."
He continued:
"For me, I think, many aspects of the game, he's probably the best at any given moment, he can almost do what he wants on a football pitch so for that reason he's the best."
In his career, Alexander-Arnold has come up against Messi once in the 4-0 win over Barcelona in the second leg of the 2018/19 Champions League semi-final. The Reds famously managed to overcome a 3-0 deficit from the first leg to progress into the final.
When ex-Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp weighed in on the Lionel Messi v Cristiano Ronaldo debate
Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp seemingly hinted at the fact that he preferred Lionel Messi over Cristiano Ronaldo when asked to offer his opinion on this debate.
The German pointed out that he took a picture with the Argentina captain even though the 39-year-old Al-Nassr striker was present in the same room. While speaking at the LFC Foundation Gala in 2018, Klopp said (via All Football App):
"I only have one selfie on my smartphone. That's with Messi. Cristiano was in the room as well."
Messi has achieved enormous success in the game, having lifted the Champions League thrice and the La Liga trophy 10 times with Barcelona. On the other hand, Ronaldo is also a serial winner, who has five Champions League trophies, three Premier League and two La Liga titles to his name.