Bayern Munich legend Uli Hoeness asked to choose between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, picks legend instead 

Former Bayern Munich striker and president Uli Hoeness made his pick between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. The duo are widely regarded as two of the best players in the game's history.

Despite being on the wrong side of 35, Ronaldo and Messi are going great great guns for club and country, having amassed over 800 goals. Unsurprisingly, they have won multiple Ballons d'Or - 13 between them - with Messi accounting for eight of them.

Having dominated the sport for nearly two decades, Ronaldo and Messi have had illustrious careers and showing little signs of slowing down anytime soon. However, when asked to pick one of the two, former Bayern president Hoeness instead chose the late legend Diego Maradona.

Abend Zeitung chief reported Maximilian Koch tweeted Hoeness' response (as translated from German):

"Hoeness is asked: #Messi or #Ronaldo ? His answer: “Maradona!” @Cristiano"

Both Ronaldo and Messi are coming off lean outings in their last international tournment.

While Ronaldo drew a blank in five games as Portugal lost to France on penalties (5-3) in the Euro 2024 quarter-finals, Messi scored once in five outings as Argentina beat Colombia 1-0 in extra time to retain their Copa America title.

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How have Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi fared in international football?

Cristiano Ronaldo (left) and Lionel Messi

Both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are two of the doyens in men's international football. With 130 and 109 goals, they are respectively the two most prolific scorers in the men's game.

However, Messi (45) leads his arch-rivals in terms of trophies won for club and country, comfortably ahead of Ronaldo (35). With his 2024 Copa America triumph, La Pulga is now the most decorated player in men's football, overtaking his former Barcelona teammate Dani Alves.

Messi has won four straight titles with his national team, adding the recent Copa success to his previous triumphs at the 2021 Copa America, the 2022 Finalissima and the 2022 FIFA World Cup.