"He's a more cerebral player" – Giuseppe Rossi chooses between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo

Ex-Manchester United and Villarreal forward Giuseppe Rossi has picked Argentina great Lionel Messi as the greatest footballer of all time over Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo.

During a recent interaction with British sports streaming platform DAZN, Rossi was asked to pick between his former Manchester United teammate and the Barcelona legend. He responded:

"They both bring different things to the game, that's why it's so hard to compare them. Ronaldo went from a winger to being the best number nine on the planet, scoring goals is all he cares about."

Picking Messi over Ronaldo and hailing the former, Rossi concluded:

"Messi is a goalscorer but he facilitates and I appreciate that as a player who likes to come deep and get the ball. He's a more cerebral player and therefore some people don't understand that part of the game. So that's why I lean more towards watching him play. It's all about preference, all about preference."

Messi, who is currently relishing a fine season at Inter Miami, has lifted a whopping eight Ballon d'Or awards. The 36-year-old contributed 704 goals and 338 assists in 853 club games during his time in Europe.

Ronaldo, on the other hand, has three Ballon d'Or awards less than the 2022 FIFA World Cup winner. The 39-year-old bagged 701 goals and recorded 223 assists in 949 club matches while he was in Europe.

Ex-Chelsea forward says only Lionel Messi is better than him, snubs Cristiano Ronaldo

Earlier this February, ex-Chelsea and Real Madrid star Eden Hazard asserted that he was a better player than Al-Nassr superstar Cristiano Ronaldo. He told L'Equipe (h/t Football365):

"Individually, Messi is perhaps the only one. I loved watching the Barcelona player, less so at the end, but he's the greatest in history. It's impossible to take the ball away from him. Cristiano is a bigger player than me, but in terms of pure football, I honestly don't think so."

Hazard, who lifted two league titles each in England and Spain, added:

"Neymar maybe. After that, he's no better than me, but at Real, you've got the best, also in terms of their careers: [Karim] Benzema, [Luka] Modric... they were the best. [Toni] Kroos, Kevin [De Bruyne as well]... they all exude football."

Hazard, who retired past October, recorded 167 goals and 151 assists in 622 joint appearances for Real Madrid, Chelsea, and LOSC Lille.

Meanwhile, the Portuguese veteran is still going strong at Al-Nassr. He has scored 50 goals and laid out 14 assists in 56 club matches so far.