- Portuguese star has five Ballons d’Or
- Argentine rival boasts eight Golden Balls
- Career-long battle to be considered the best
WHAT HAPPENED?
Red Devils legend Rooney, who is the club’s all-time leading goalscorer, spent five years working alongside Ronaldo at Old Trafford – savouring Premier League and Champions League glory as a fearsome attacking pairing.
WHAT ROONEY SAID
While Rooney is a big fan of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, he has told The Overlap – brought to you by Sky Bet – of why he favours Argentine magic over Portuguese passion: “I think Messi, he’s the best ever. I get a lot of stick for saying Messi where it’s as if, ‘How can you say Messi, it’s Ronaldo.’ I understand that people can say Messi, people can say Ronaldo – they are both incredible, probably the best two players to ever play the game. For me, Messi has just got that little bit more flair, which I like in a player, so that’s the reason.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Rooney played with and against plenty of all-time greats during his distinguished career, and picked out a World Cup-winning Frenchman as the star that he would have most liked to share a dressing room with. The ex-England captain added: “[I wish I played with] Zinedine Zidane, just how good he was. Messi is the best of all time but to play with Zidane [would be amazing]. He’s cool, calm, plays with both feet, goals and assists.”
WHAT NEXT?
While Messi and Ronaldo are still going strong in their late 30s – at Inter Miami and Al-Nassr respectively – Rooney retired in 2021 and is now trying his luck at management. Following a forgettable stint at Tom Brady’s Birmingham in 2023-24, the 38-year-old has inherited the reins at Championship side Plymouth.
