When Ronaldinho snubbed Cristiano Ronaldo and chose Lionel Messi along with 3 former Chelsea stars in dream Champions League XI

In 2015, Brazilian legend Ronaldinho chose his favourite all-time UEFA Champions League XI, which included Lionel Messi but not Cristiano Ronaldo. He also picked three former Chelsea players in his team (via The Sun).

Ronaldinho began by picking Juventus legend Gianluigi Buffon as his goalkeeper. The Italian legend made 124 appearances in the Champions League (excluding qualifiers) and kept 53 clean sheets. Buffon made it to the final on three occasions (2003, 2015 and 2017), but lost each time.

In the full-back roles, the Barcelona legend picked his compatriots Roberto Carlos (left-back) and Cafu (right-back). Carlos played 120 times in the Champions League, registering 16 goals and 27 assists, and won the trophy thrice. Cafu played only 55 games in the competition, but won it once.

Chelsea legend John Terry and AC Milan legend Paolo Maldini were the centre-backs in the hypothetical team. While Terry made 109 Champions League appearances, Maldini played in the competition 116 times. The Englishman won the title in 2012, while Maldini did so on five occasions.

Ronaldinho picked two more former Chelsea stars to anchor his midfield: Frank Lampard and Claude Makelele.

Lampard, a bonafide Blues legend, boasted a superb Champions League record, scoring 23 times and laying out 28 assists in 105 games. He was part of their title-winning team in 2012.

Makelele played 96 times in the competition, recording a goal and five assists, and winning the trophy in 2002.

Ahead of the duo, the Brazilian chose to go with compatriot and former AC Milan star Kaka in attacking midfield. He was flanked by Thierry Henry (left wing) and Lionel Messi (right wing).

Kaka has an eye-catching Champions League record, registering 30 goals and 25 assists in 86 appearances. Henry, meanwhile, recorded 50 goals and 22 assists in 112 games in the competition. They both lifted the trophy once, in 2007 and 2009 respectively.

Lionel Messi, meanwhile, is, alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, the greatest to ever feature in the Champions League.

La Pulga, the only player still active in Europe's top five leagues from this list, has made 163 appearances in the competition, scoring 129 goals and laying out 40 assists. He is the second-highest scorer of all time, behind Ronaldo (140 goals), and is a four-time winner (2006, 2009, 2011 and 2015).

The team was rounded off with another Brazilian, Ronaldo Nazario, leading the line. "R9" registered 14 goals and 10 assists in 40 Champions League games but did not win the competition.

Ronaldinho's UEFA Champions League Dream XI: Gianluigi Buffon; Roberto Carlos, John Terry, Paolo Maldini, Cafu; Frank Lampard, Claude Makelele; Thierry Henry, Kaka, Lionel Messi; Ronaldo Nazario

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Ronaldinho, Lionel Messi & Cristiano Ronaldo all made Bukayo Saka's dream 5-a-side team

Cristiano Ronaldo may not have made it into Ronaldinho's hypothetical UEFA Champions League XI. However, both legends, as well as Lionel Messi, found a spot in Arsenal star Bukayo Saka's dream five-a-side team.

Speaking last November ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, which was eventually won by Messi's Argentina, Saka said (as quoted by the Mirror):

“I’ll go R9 (Brazilian Ronaldo), Cr7 (Cristiano Ronaldo), (Lionel) Messi, (Andres) Iniesta, Ronaldinho.”

While Ronaldinho has long retired, Ronaldo and Messi are still going strong for their respective clubs this season. While the former has scored 11 times in nine matches for Al-Nassr since joining in January, Messi has 18 goals and 17 assists in 33 games for Paris Saint-Germain.