“He has absolutely everything” – When Paul Scholes made clear choice in Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi debate
In a 2015 interview, Manchester United legend Paul Scholes picked Lionel Messi over Cristiano Ronaldo, saying that the Argentina icon was a more complete footballer.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are widely hailed as the two best players of their generation. With 12 Ballon d’Or awards between them, the pair have dominated the game for nearly two decades, winning pretty much every trophy there's to win.
The Messi vs Ronaldo conversation is one of the most tantalising in football, and it gets more controversial when a legendary player overlooks his former teammate to pick the other guy. Scholes, who played alongside Ronaldo for six years at Manchester United, became a part of that when he hailed Messi as the better player,
Scholes revealed to the Independent (via GiveMeSport) in 2015:
“Messi (is the best), but Ronaldo is brilliant. Ronaldo is sensational at what he does, with pace and power. He scores; he takes free-kicks. But as an all-round footballer, Messi - wow, his passing - he has absolutely everything.”
The former England star added:
“I think about the great players with whom I have shared a pitch: Eric Cantona, Zinedine Zidane, Pirlo, Xavi, Cristiano Ronaldo – and the greatest of them all is Messi.”
Scholes played 184 games alongside Cristiano Ronaldo at United, combining for nine goals. The Englishman faced Messi four times in the UEFA Champions League: in the semifinals of the 2007-08 season and in the 2008-09 and 2010-11 finals.
The Red Devils won the semis over Barcelon 1-0 on aggregate, but lost the 2009 and 2011 finals 2-0 and 3-1, respectively.
Al-Feiha uses Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi’s famous advert to take cheeky dig at Al-Nassr star
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi were snapped playing chess over Luis Vuitton’s iconic checkered top of the 2022 FIFA World Cup case in November. Al-Feiha have now used the same ad to mock Ronaldo following Sunday (April 9)'s goalless draw.
Hours after the draw, Al-Feiha took to Twitter to post an edited image of Messi and Ronaldo’s Luis Vuitton ad. Instead of Lionel Messi playing against him, it was Al-Feiha captain Sami Al-Khaibari.
🏻🧡
كِشْ مَلِك 😏💪🏻🧡
#الفيحاء https://t.co/xCmXsLkjrp
The caption of the post read:
“Checkmate 😏💪🏻🧡”
Ronaldo was rendered ineffective as Al-Nassr were held to a goalless stalemate away from home. The 38-year-old only had one shot on target and was visibly frustrated at the end of the game, rudely asking an Al-Feiha official to shut up.