Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi? Premier League star James Ward-Prowse chooses between GOATs

Southampton captain James Ward-Prowse picked Cristiano Ronaldo over Lionel Messi in the GOAT debate. He revealed his pick in the #ThisOrThat challenge on JD Football's Tik Tok account.

Choosing between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi was not the only task that Ward-Prowse was handed. He was also asked to pick between Zinedine Zidane and Andres Iniesta, with Ward-Prowse picking the Spaniard.

He also chose Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk over Manchester City legend Vincent Kompany. The midfielder picked Thierry Henry over Ronaldo Nazario as well.

In the debate of the two modern-day attacking greats, Robert Lewandowski and Karim Benzema, Ward-Prowse sided with the Real Madrid ace over the Barcelona attacker.

David Silva over Cesc Fabregas, Kaka over Mesut Ozil, Gareth Bale over Eden Hazard, Didier Drogba over Samuel Eto'o, Luis Suarez over Sergio Aguero, John Terry over Rio Ferdinand, Xabi Alonso over Paul Scholes, and Steven Gerrard over Frank Lampard were his other picks.

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Jose Mourinho once claimed Cristiano Ronaldo had it tougher than Lionel Messi

FC Barcelona v Juventus: Group G - UEFA Champions League

The rivalry between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi peaked when the two superstars were in La Liga with Real Madrid and Barcelona, respectively. Mourinho, who used to be Los Blancos' coach from 2010 to 2013, once claimed that Ronaldo's job was harder than Messi's.

The Argentine came up through the youth academies of the Catalan club and played alongside the likes of Xavi, Iniesta, and more such big names for years. In fact, his first senior goal was assisted by the great Ronaldinho.

The Blaugrana were the more dominant force when Ronaldo made his move to the Spanish capital from Manchester United.

Mourinho pointed this out as he once said (via Sports Brief) :

"I keep saying it’s harder to be Cristiano than Lionel Messi. I’ll tell you: Messi grew up in the team he plays for now; with the teammates, he plays with now. Cristiano came from England to a team that was losing."

The two superstars have given fans countless memorable moments with their duels over the last 15 years. La Liga was arguably Europe's strongest league for the nine years (2009-2018) that these two legends played together in it for. Both superstars are currently in their late 30s and are approaching the tail end of their careers.

Ronaldo moved out of Europe this year to play for Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr, while Messi has often been linked with a move to the MLS.