Lionel Messi or Ronaldo Nazario? Ronaldinho or Angel Di Maria? Javier Zanetti picks favorites between Brazil and Argentine legends

Former Argentina defender Javier Zanetti recently picked his favorites among Argentina and Brazil legends, including Lionel Messi and Ronaldinho. La Pulga is considered by many as the best player that the world has ever seen, while the Brazilian is also among the finest of his generation.

Zanetti was recently in conversation with GOAL, where he was asked to choose one among two Brazil and Argentina footballers. The Inter Milan legend was first asked to take his pick between Ronaldo Nazario and Lionel Messi. He took no time to opt for his countryman. When asked to pick one between Pele and Diego Maradona, however, the ex-Argentinean defender opted for both.

Kaka and Juan Roman Riquelme came up next, and Zanetti picked the Brazilian this time. However, he chose Carlos Tevez ahead of Adriano and Sergio Aguero instead of Romario in the following questions.

Interestingly, Zanetti also opted for Angel Di Maria ahead of Ronaldinho, perhaps staying loyal to his countryman. The trend continued when Juninho and Javier Mascherano came into the picture, with the current Inter Miami manager getting the pick.

In the final question of the series, Zanetti chose Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez ahead of Real Madrid sensation Vinicius Junior.

Ronaldinho was running rampant at Barcelona when Lionel Messi broke into the scenes. The Brazilian, in many ways, passed the baton to the Argentinean before moving on from Camp Nou in 2008.

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How many games did Lionel Messi play with Ronaldinho?

Lionel Messi and Ronaldinho

Lionel Messi shared the pitch with Ronaldinho 80 times for Barcelona, contributing to eight goals together. Interestingly, the Argentinean's first goal for Barcelona was assisted by the Brazilian.

They won 54 games together, losing just 11, with La Pulga going on to inherit the No. 10 jersey at Camp Nou from his good friend and mentor. The Argentinean added further glory to that fabled shirt, going on to become the club's greatest-ever player.

Messi scored 672 goals and set up 303 more from 778 games for the Catalans. No player has played more games or scored or assisted more for LaLiga giants in their history.

The Argentinean is also the club's most decorated football, having won a record 35 trophies during his stay at Camp Nou. The player left Barcelona in the summer of 2021, joining Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in a Bosman move. He parted ways with the Parisians in 2023 to join his current club Inter Miami, also as a free agent.