Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo? Manchester United star Christian Eriksen names player he considers the GOAT
Manchester United midfielder Christian Eriksen has made his GOAT pick between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. The Dane has been at Old Trafford since the summer of 2022.
Messi and Ronaldo are widely regarded as the two best players in the history of the beautiful game. The duo have scored goals - over 800 for club and country - won trophies galore, both collectively and individually.
Ronaldo and Messi - in that order - are the two most prolific scorers in UEFA Champions League history, with each player winning the competition multiple times, along with multiple league titles in more than one country.
Despite being in the twilight of their illustrious careers, both Messi and Ronaldo are still going strong, showing little signs of stopping anytime soon. Eriksen, meanwhile, made his selection of players on multiple criteria, selecting Ronaldo in two respects, but his GOAT vote went to Messi.
The entire interaction (as per GOAL) went as follows:
"Goalscorer: Ronaldo"
"Underrated: Luka Modric"
"Speed: Mbappe"
"Best friend: Victor Lindelof"
"Potential: Kobbie Mainoo"
"Big-game player: Cristiano Ronaldo"
"Skills: Jadon Sancho"
"GOAT: Messi"
It's pertinent to note that Eriksen played six months with Ronaldo during the first half of the 2022-23 season before the Portuguese left United after mutually terminating his contract.
How Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo fared in their last international competition?
Both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo endured underwhelming outings in their respective latest international tournaments, their teams experienced contrasting fortunes.
Ronaldo drew a rare blank in five games at Euro 2024 - a first in 11 major tournaments that he failed to score - as Portugal lost 5-3 on penalties to France after a goalless 120 minutes.
The 39-year-old did carve out a few records, though. He became the joint assist-provider in Euro history (eight) and also became the oldest player to score in an Euro shootout and the first to do so in four of them.
At the start of the campaign, Ronaldo became the first player to appear in six editions of the competition. However, he couldn't become the first to score in as many editions, notably missing an extra-time penalty in the Round-of-16 3-0 shootout win over Slovenia after a goalless 120 minutes.
Coming to Lionel Messi, he bagged a goal and an assist in five games during an injury-plagued campaign, missing one game and coming off midway through the second half of another. However, Argentina beat Colombia 1-0 in extra time to retain their title, giving their captain a record 45th title for club and country.