Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and more: Former Manchester City star Joe Hart blind ranks top 10 UCL players
Manchester City legend Joe Hart ranked former Manchester United players Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney, along with others, in a 'Blind Top 10' list of UEFA Champions League players.
BBC's Match of the Day account on X shared a video of Joe Hart playing the 'Blind Top 10' list game ahead of matchday 2 in the first week of this season's Champions League.
The first name Hart got was Cristiano Ronaldo, who he had no problem slotting in at the top spot. He said:
"Cristiano Ronaldo? Where do you put him? You put him there - number 1!"
Hart put former Barcelona duo Thierry Henry and Ronaldinho in eighth and ninth spot, respectively. Former AC Milan midfielder Clarence Seedorf, who won the Champions League four times, came in behind Cristiano Ronaldo.
"Iker Casillas. I just think, his debut, everything he did. Goalkeeping wise, he is incredible. He goes into the next available slot at 3," Hart said while praising the Spaniard.
When his former club rival and compatriot Wayne Rooney came in the random draw, the goalkeeper was effusive in his praise of the striker, placing him below Marcelo at five.
"Awesome player. Awesome player. How many times has he won it. 1 or 2? He's going to have to go in at 6," he said.
Joe Hart was conscious of keeping space for Real Madrid players given the number of times they've won the tournament. However, the only player still playing in the tournament, Vinicius Jr., featured in 10th spot in his list.
"If you would ask me the ranking in a few years' time, it might be different but right now I feel quite comfortable slotting him at 10," Hart admitted when Vinicius' name came at the end.
Here's Joe Hart's complete list:
- Cristiano Ronaldo
- Clarence Seedorf
- Iker Casillas
- Toni Kroos
- Marcelo
- Wayne Rooney
- Gareth Bale
- Thierry Henry
- Ronaldinho
- Vinicius Jr.
Cristiano Ronaldo leads Champions League top scorers charts while Wayne Rooney lies outside the top 25
Wayne Rooney featured higher than Gareth Bale, despite winning only one Champions League title in his career. Cristiano Ronaldo was the Englishman's teammate at Manchester United in the 2007/08 season when they won the trophy.
Ronaldo is the top-scorer in the history of the Champions League with 140 goals in 183 appearances. A large chunk of those goals - 105 - came while he was playing for Real Madrid while the rest with Manchester United (21) and Juventus (14).
All of Wayne Rooney's Champions League goals have come for the Red Devils. However, with just 30 goals to his name in Europe's elite competition, he finds himself in 28th spot. He is level with Samuel Eto'o, Kaka, and Francisco Gento.