"Always been in Messi's shadow" - Luke Shaw's old tweet on Manchester United teammate Cristiano Ronaldo resurfaces on social media

Whenever a footballer picks sides in the Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi debate, things get heated. Manchester United left-back Luke Shaw has attracted attention due to his take on the rivalry.

Interestingly, the fuss is not about something the English international said recently. This dates back to one of his tweets from 2013 when the rivalry between Messi and Ronaldo was getting stronger with every passing year. At the time, when he was still a Southampton player, Shaw firmly placed himself in camp Messi.

In a Twitter exchange with a former Saints teammate by the name of Jamal Branker, he has clearly revealed his allegiance to the Argentine. He is not only going hard on Ronaldo, but also praising Messi for how regularly he steps up for his team on big occasions.

But the debate spiced up because of a few other tweets that might put the Manchester United left-back in some trouble. A year later, the English international replied to a Twitter user and reminded him of the former Barcelona star's mammoth achievement.

Apparently, he wondered what separates the two greats from each other and curiously asked:

"What can he do that Ronaldo can't?"

To this, the left-back replied:

"scored 91 goals in a year. Has Ronaldo done that?"

This will definitely make for an interesting topic of conversation in the Red Devils dressing room these days, with Shaw playing with the Portuguese now.

However, the Manchester United defender can rush to his own defense by showing the Portuguese a Tweet from February 27th, 2013. Shaw conceded that he wasn't really team Ronaldo but was okay with giving him the credit that the Portuguese deserved.

Luke Shaw's old comments have taken social media by storm

The aforementioned tweet was in reaction to the Real Madrid striker's amazing performance against Barcelona. He scored a brace to send his team through to the Copa del Rey final.

Whether the Manchester United left-back is convinced about Ronaldo being as good as Messi is something only he knows deep down. But after all these years of watching the two, his mind may have changed.

Manchester United and Ronaldo pushing hard to make it to the top-four

While both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have left Spain, the debates surrounding their rivalry will never be extinguished. The two forwards are still regularly compared even though one plays for Paris Saint-Germain in France and the other is in England.

Ronaldo has contributed with 14 crucial goals in 23 games for Manchester United in all competitions this season. The Portuguese made it clear in a recent interview that he did not join the Red Devils to finish sixth or seventh. He expects them to compete for the title.

Manchester United won a thriller at Old Trafford against West Ham United on Saturday and entered the top-four thanks to a late Marcus Rashford winner. The Red Devils are being chased by north London clubs Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur. They have two and three games in hand respectively.

Signs of progress have been slow at Old Trafford under new interim boss Ralf Rangnick but there are some positives. They will have to continue to put in a string of strong performances until the end of the season to finish in the top-four of the Premier League.