Paul Scholes had no doubts when asked to choose between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the ongoing GOAT debate.
Scholes shared the pitch with Ronaldo for six years at Manchester United, from 2003 to 2009, before Ronaldo’s then-record £80 million transfer to Real Madrid.
During that time, the duo secured three consecutive Premier League titles between 2006 and 2009, with Scholes watching Ronaldo net 118 goals in 292 appearances in his first stint at the club.
They also lifted the Champions League trophy in 2008, with Ronaldo earning his first of five Ballon d’Ors following that victory and remarkable season.
Continue ReadingHowever, despite Ronaldo’s achievements, Scholes believes that Messi still outshines his long-time rival.
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Scholes lost two finals to Messi’s Barcelona in 2009 and 2011, but it was years later, when Messi dazzled against Spurs at Wembley in the Champions League, that the United legend came to realize the Argentine is superior as an all-around footballer.
“Watching Messi against Tottenham at Wembley made me think about the Messi and [Cristiano] Ronaldo debate again,” Scholes said, speaking on ESPN.
“Messi, but Ronaldo is brilliant. “Ronaldo is sensational at what he does, with pace and power. He scores, he takes free-kicks.
“But as an all-round footballer, Messi – wow, his passing – has absolutely everything.”
Scholes did manage to outshine a young Messi in a Champions League semifinal against Barcelona in 2008, where he scored the decisive goal that secured a final showdown with Chelsea.
However, Scholes has openly admitted that he did his utmost to steer clear of the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner on the pitch to avoid being embarrassed.
In 2015, Scholes wrote a column for the Standard, where he detailed just how challenging it is to play against Messi.
“I am not ashamed to admit that in the games against Barcelona I spent a lot of the time just hoping he would take up positions as far away from me as possible,” Scholes wrote.
“Elusive is the word that immediately springs to mind when I think about Messi’s style of play.
“You think you have an eye on him and then – blink – he has gone, only to reappear somewhere else in space, with the ball. When you try to face up to him and make a tackle you know what it is he is going to do with the ball. The problem is staying with him.”
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