Start one, bench one and drop one: Wayne Rooney makes bold claim involving Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Kane

Wayne Rooney has boldly claimed that he would start Argentina captain Lionel Messi, bench England frontman Harry Kane and drop Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo.

Former England captain, Rooney, was speaking to Sports 18 when he was asked to start one, bench one, and drop one of the attacking trio.

He responded (via Sportstar):

"Right now? I will start Messi, bench Kane and drop Ronaldo."

It comes after a war of words has ensued between former Manchester United teammates Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo.

The DC United manager claimed that the Portuguese forward was becoming a distraction at Old Trafford.

Ronaldo responded in an interview with broadcaster Piers Morgan, claiming that his former teammate might be jealous that he is still playing aged 37.

However, the Portuguese forward has lacked form for United this season, scoring just three goals and providing two assists in 16 appearances across competitions.

Meanwhile, Lionel Messi has been superb for Paris Saint-Germain, bagging 12 goals and contributing 14 assists in 19 matches.

Finally, Harry Kane has been impressive for Tottenham Hotspur, scoring 13 goals and providing three assists in 22 games.

The English striker heads to the 2022 FIFA World Cup as the current Golden Boot winner, having notched six goals at the tournament.

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Cristiano Ronaldo lavished praise on Lionel Messi as being like a teammate

Cristiano Ronaldo on his respect for Lionel Messi

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi's rivalry stretches back to 2009 when the Portuguese headed to Real Madrid from United.

The pair have embraced in a feud that has seen fans, pundits, players, and coaches all pick which of the two is better.

However, Ronaldo put the rivalry aside to praise the Argentina skipper in his interview with Morgan.

The Red Devils striker said (via SPORT):

“Amazing player is magic, top…[Excluding Ronaldo] him and (Zinedine) Zidane are probably the best players I've ever seen."

Ronaldo continued,

"As a person, we share the stage 16 years, imagine, 16 years. We share. So, I have great relationship with him. I'm not friend of him in terms of, what I mean friend is the guy who was with you in your house, speaking on the phone, no, but it's like a teammate."

The iconic duo head into their final FIFA World Cup tournament, with both looking to add the trophy to their list of achievements.

With Ronaldo, now aged 37, and Messi, 35, it is expected to be the final time the pair will perform at the international tournament.

The Portugal captain has scored seven goals and two assists in 17 World Cup appearances, just two shy of Eusebio's record of nine goals for Selecção das Quinas.

Meanwhile, has bagged six goals and five assists in 19 appearances at the competition.