“I won the World Cup – I know who is better between Ronaldo and Messi” | Football | Sport

Brazilian football legend Rivaldo has come out in support of Lionel Messi in the eternal debate over who is the best between the little Argentinian and Cristiano Ronaldo. For years, fans have been debating heatedly whether the ex-Barcelona maestro or the Portuguese goal machine is the brightest star of their generation.

The debate is about everything from pure goalscoring prowess to the sheer number of trophies won, but for a player of Rivaldo’s stature – World Cup winner with Brazil and Champions League winner with AC Milan in 2003 – Messi is the better choice.

Rivaldo praised Messi’s ability to decide games in the blink of an eye, considering it a decisive factor, and even expressed his desire to work with the 37-year-old, which would have been a dream come true.

In an interview with Betfair in 2017, Rivaldo first expressed his admiration, saying: “I would love to play with Messi. That would be incredible. He is the best in the world, the one who makes the biggest difference.”

Rivaldo reiterated his stance in 2019 after witnessing Messi’s prowess in Barcelona’s convincing 3-0 win over Liverpool in the Champions League – which was infamously disallowed in the second leg – and stated: “I don’t think Barcelona will ever have a player like Messi in their history. He is unique and the best player in the world.”

Brazilian football legend Rivaldo also boldly claimed that Messi would dominate football’s top individual awards of the year: “Honestly, I don’t see anyone this season who could overshadow him and win the individual award as the best player in the world. And it’s only May!”

“But he will win everything: the Ballon d’Or, the FIFA World Player of the Year…” Those words proved prescient, as the magician went on to win major awards over time, reports the Mirror.

Despite this praise for Messi, Rivaldo has no less respect for the sharpshooter Ronaldo, commenting in 2017: “Ronaldo? He is the most dangerous player at Real. It is difficult to stop him, just like Messi.”

Rivaldo praised the duo but also openly expressed his belief that the pool of exceptional talent present during their heyday dwarfs that of the current era: “I’m just saying that both of them are very good players.

“However, in my time you could find more quality players than today (2017), when you only hear about Messi, Ronaldo and Neymar.”