Former Manchester United star hails Lionel Messi as the best UCL player of the 2010s ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo

Former Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov has picked Lionel Messi as the best UEFA Champions League player of the 2010s over former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo. Berbatov selected both Messi and Ronaldo as the best UCL players of the 2010s but ranked the Argentine ahead of his Portuguese rival.

In 2018, Dimitar Berbatov had thrown his weight behind Lionel Messi in the ‘GOAT’ debate.

In a quick-fire question-and-answer game ahead of Matchday 3 of the 2024-25 Champions League season, Berbatov was asked to name the best UCL players in the 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s. For the 2000s, he chose Ronaldo Nazario, saying:

''R9, for sure."

Berbatov chose Zinedine Zidane’s goal against Bayer Leverkusen in the 2002 Champions League final at Hampden Park, Glasgow, as the best UCL goal of the 2000s. He added:

''Zidane’s volley against us, Leverkusen in the Champion League final. That was something else!"

The former Bayer Leverkusen striker chose his team's 2002 final against Real Madrid as the best UCL final of the 2000s. He said:

''I can say Leverkusen vs. Real Madrid because I was there but we lost.’’

Moving to the 2010s, he was asked to name his best UCL player in the 2010s, to which he responded:

''Messi and Ronaldo, but I’ll go for Messi.’’

However, he chose Cristiano Ronaldo’s bicycle kick goal against Juventus as the best UCL goal of the 2010s.

''Ronaldo’s scissor kick against Juventus, was it? Yeah," Berbatov said.

Berbatov named Real Madrid's 3-1 victory against Liverpool in the 2018-19 UCL final as the best UCL final of the 2010s.

For the 2020s, he named Kylian Mbappe as the best player and Erling Haaland’s acrobatic match-winning goal for Manchester City against Borussia Dortmund in the 2022-23 campaign as his best UCL goal. His best final was Paris Saint-Germain vs. Bayern Munich in the 2019-20 campaign.

Lionel Messi beats Cristiano Ronaldo to another record after his first hat-trick for Inter Miami

Lionel Messi led Inter Miami to the MLS Supporters' Shield with an emphatic 6-2 win over New England Revolution. The Herons recorded the highest points tally (74) in MLS history while claiming their first Supporters' Shield.

The Argentine came on from the bench against New England Revolution with the scoreline at 2-2 and scored a hat-trick within 11 minutes. In the process, he became Inter Miami's all-time leading scorer with 33 goals.

Messi is the first player in history to lead the scoring charts for three different teams. Lionel Messi is Barcelona’s all-time leading scorer (672 goals) and Argentina (112 goals). Cristiano Ronaldo, on the other hand, is the all-time top scorer for Real Madrid (450 goals) and Portugal (133 goals).