Brazilian legend Ronaldo Nazario may finally have settled the GOAT debate involving him Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
As football has continued to grow further and further, becoming the most popular sport in the world, fans have often debated who the greatest player ever to step onto a football pitch is.
While some look back at past eras to pick players like Diego Maradona or Brazil’s Ronaldo, others argue for current players such as long-term rivals Messi and Ronaldo.
But now, one of Ronaldo himself has weighed in on the debate, revealing who he thinks is better out of him, Cristiano and Messi.
With two World Cups, two Ballon d’Ors and over 350 career goals for both club and country, Ronaldo Nazario is undoubtedly one of the greatest players that the sport has ever seen.
However, he has made it clear that even he thinks that there is one player that stands above him in the GOAT debate,
In a clip shared on social media, the Real Madrid legend was asked to play a ‘winner stays on’ game involving some of the best footballers of all time.
When it came to picking between himself and fellow Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo, the 48-year-old confidently backed himself but when facing Messi, he reluctantly groaned before selecting the Argentinian.
And it’s not the first time that the legendary striker has snubbed the Portuguese icon when discussing the best players of all time, as he decided not to name him as, when speaking to The Guardian in 2022, he neglected to pick him as one of the eight greatest players.
He stated: “I think there is a very, very special group.
“Where you have Diego [Maradona], [Lionel] Messi, [Johan] Cruyff, [Franz] Beckenbauer, Pele, [Marco] Van Basten, Ronaldinho.
“I would include myself. Let the fans say, let them debate it in the bars. But you can’t rank them, can’t compare generations.
“People call me Original Ronaldo but there were others – and they weren’t false. I’m not the only one and more will come along and be better than me, in everything.”