Lionel Messi, Ronaldinho or Cristiano Ronaldo? Ex-Real Betis star Nabil Fekir picks his favourite

Former Real Betis midfielder Nabil Fekir has made his pick between Lionel Messi, Ronaldinho and Cristiano Ronaldo. The 31-year-old moved from Bets to Al-Jazira in the UAE this summer after five years at the La Liga club.

Meanwhile, Messi, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho are widely regarded as three of the best players to grace the beautiful game. While Messi and Ronaldo are still active, Ronaldinho has long retired.

In a TikTok post of Aljazirafc (as tweeted by Footballogue), Fekir made his choices between player pairs. The interaction went as follows:

"Mbappe or Benzema: Mbappe"

"Mbappe or Zizou (Zidane): Zizou"

"Ronaldo Nazario or Zizou: Zizou"

"Ronaldinho or Zizou" Ronaldinho"

"Ronaldinho or Cristiano Ronaldo: Ronaldinho"

"Messi or Ronaldinho: Messi"

"Fekir or Messi: Fekir (laughing)"

Messi and Ronaldo are on the wrong side of 35 but are still going strong. While Messi is currently injured, he's coming off a record 45th title for club and country at the 2024 Copa America with defending champions Argentina.

La Albiceleste beat Colombia 1-0 in the final in extra time, with Messi coming off midway through the second half due to an ankle injury. However, Lautaro Martinez struck a late winner in extra time as Lionel Scaloni's side became the first team to win 16 Copa titles.

Meanwhile, Ronaldo is coming off a scoreless campaign at Euro 2024, failing to score in five games as Portugal crashed out after a 5-3 shootout defeat to France following a goalless 120 minutes.

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How has Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi fared against Real Betis?

Lionel Messi (left) and Cristiano Ronaldo

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo achieved great success during their respective stints in Spanish football. While Messi scored a record 672 goals for Barcelona in 17 seasons, Ronaldo plundered 450 in just nine seasons for Real Madrid.

So, how did the two legends fare against Real Betis? Starting with Messi, the Argentinian played Betis 24 times across competitions, winning 18 and losing just twice. He contributed 26 goals and 10 assists against them. That includes two hat-tricks (one in La Liga and the other in the Copa del Rey), a hat-trick of assists in a game and eight braces.

Coming to Ronaldo, the current Al-Nassr striker won nine of his 12 games against Betis, losing twice. He scored six times and assisted five against the La Liga side. That includes a brace and two other games where he both scored and assisted.