Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo? Prince William gives his verdict on the GOAT debate

Prince William has made his pick in the age-old debate between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The British prince sided with the Argentine superstar over the Portuguese legend.

Messi and Ronaldo have established themselves as two of the greatest legends of the game with their career spanning over 20 years. The duo have won a record 13 Ballons d'Or together with Messi having eight and Ronaldo five. Their rivalry is one of a kind in football, which reached its peak between 2009 and 2018 when Messi was at Barcelona and Ronaldo at Real Madrid.

Over the years, fans, pundits, and legends of the game have been asked to choose the better footballer between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Some prefer La Pulga for his magical gameplay and superior list of accolades and records. Others opt for Ronaldo for his unparalleled work ethic and lethal goalscoring abilities.

During his visit to Aston Villa's Bodymoor Heath training complex on March 11, Prince William sat down for a Q&A session with The Sun. During this quiz, he was given two options to choose from and had to opt for one.

When asked to take his pick between Ronaldo Nazario and Lionel Messi, he said (via The Mirror):

"These are really tricky ones... Messi."

He was then asked to pick between Messi and Ronaldo. He said:

"Gotta be Messi, just."

Lionel Messi currently plies his trade for MLS side Inter Miami. After a decent start to their 2025 campaign, Messi has missed the last three games for the Herons due to a muscle overload issue.

Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo has been working towards winning his first silverware with Al-Nassr. He was the highest goalscorer for the Saudi Pro League last season.

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Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's record against each other explored

Ronaldo and Messi (L to R) - Source: Getty

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have faced each other in 36 games for club and country. The Argentine superstar has won 16 games and lost 11 times against his archrival. Nine games ended on stalemates.

Out of these games, 30 games were El Classico. Ronaldo won and drew eight times each during Clasicos, and lost 14 times. Messi has only faced Ronaldo twice at the international level when they represented Argentina and Portugal respectively. The rest of his clashes against Ronaldo were all during his time at Barcelona.

The first time Messi faced Ronaldo was during the 2007-08 Champions League semi-finals. The Red Devils won 1-0 over La Blaugrana on aggregate and eventually won the trophy that year.

The duo's final official clash against each other was in the 2020-21 season when Ronaldo's Juventus beat Messi's Barcelona 3-0 in the Champions League group stage. Their current clubs, Inter Miami and Al-Nassr, faced each other in February 2024 with the Herons losing 6-0. However, Messi and Ronaldo did not share the pitch during the friendly game.