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In a 2020 interview, Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes admitted that he preferred his compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo over Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) superstar Lionel Messi.
The Cristiano Ronaldo-Lionel Messi debate has been raging on for years now. While some believe that five-time Champions League-winning forward Ronaldo is the best of all time, others feel 2022 World Cup winner Messi is the Greatest of All Time (GOAT).
In 2020, Manchester United ace Fernandes was asked to pick sides, and unsurprisingly, he joined the Portugal skipper’s camp. Speaking on Soccer Bible’s ‘The Dial Up’ podcast, Fernandes said:
“You can like Messi more than Ronaldo or you can like Pele more than any other player. I didn’t see Pele play so I can’t say he was the biggest player in the world.
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“For me, Cristiano is the best I’ve ever seen.”
While he picked his former Manchester United teammate ahead of Messi, Fernandes claimed that it was not wrong to cast a vote in the Argentina icon’s favor.
“Messi and Cristiano are the best. You can’t say they are not the best players in the world,” Fernandes added.
“You can prefer one or the other. Italian people may like someone like Pirlo, English people may like Beckham more, you have your choice but what these two players [Messi and Ronaldo] have done for football is impressive.”
Fernandes concluded by saying that being a Portuguese, Ronaldo was his obvious pick, adding that he wanted to keep enjoying the Al-Nassr star’s performances.
“Cristiano is a Portuguese guy like me, I need to enjoy him. He is the best for me,” the Manchester United maestro added.
Between Manchester United and Portugal, Fernandes has played 93 games alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, combining for seven goals.
David James surprised that Pep Guardiola kept Robert Lewandowski out of Cristiano Ronaldo-Lionel Messi conversation
Leading up to Manchester City’s Champions League quarterfinal first-leg against Bayern Munich, City boss Pep Guardiola talked up his striker Erling Haaland.
The Spanish tactician claimed that Haaland was on the same level as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, who have 12 Ballon d’Or awards between them. Former City goalkeeper David James did not disagree with the assessment but thought that Barcelona ace Robert Lewandowski should have also gotten a shoutout.
“It's interesting he mentioned Messi and Ronaldo and he didn't mention Lewandowski. Because we talking about the Champions League, I'd actually argue that Lewandowski historically has been the monster,” James told Hindustan Times.
“I think it was 60 goals last year or the season before in a calendar year. I did a study on Haaland and Lewandowski a little while back, and Mbappe was included.”
Lewandowski has thus far scored 593 official goals in his career. He is in 12th place on the all-time goalscorers list, but is third, behind Cristiano Ronaldo (834) and Lionel Messi (804), when only active players are considered.
