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Article continues belowArticle continues belowArticle continues below<script type="application/json" data-placement="fcplayer-semantic">{"type":"fcplayer-semantic","data":{"embedCode":"//cdn.fcp.codes/embed-code-template/embed-code-template.js#SEMANTIC_5704afb8-c10b-4ba5-9cb4-d7fb6098ef90"}}</script><ul><li>Portuguese star has five Ballons d'Or</li><li>Argentine rival boasts eight Golden Balls</li><li>Career-long battle to be considered the best</li></ul>

'Lionel Messi has more flair' - Cristiano Ronaldo snubbed by Wayne Rooney as ex-Man Utd team-mate insists Inter Miami superstar is the GOAT despite being given 'a lot of stick'

Red Devils legend Rooney, who is the club’s all-time leading goalscorer, <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/ronaldo-bites-back-jealous-rooney-criticism-man-utd-return/blt765a72b6ccda5430" target="_blank">spent five years working alongside Ronaldo at Old Trafford</a> – savouring Premier League and Champions League glory as a fearsome attacking pairing.

WHAT HAPPENED?

While Rooney is a big fan of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, he has told The Overlap – brought to you by <a href="https://m.skybet.com/" target="_blank">Sky Bet</a> – of why he favours <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/lionel-messi-vs-cristiano-ronaldo-ex-barcelona-portugal-star-deco-diplomatic-ideal-world-answer-goat-debate/bltd40c84d158ed2236" target="_blank">Argentine magic over Portuguese passion</a>: “I think Messi, he’s the best ever. I get a lot of stick for saying Messi where it’s as if, ‘How can you say Messi, it’s Ronaldo.’ I understand that people can say Messi, people can say Ronaldo – they are both incredible, probably the best two players to ever play the game. For me, Messi has just got that little bit more flair, which I like in a player, so that’s the reason.”

WHAT ROONEY SAID

Rooney played with and against plenty of all-time greats during his distinguished career, and picked out a World Cup-winning Frenchman as the star that he would have most liked to share a dressing room with. The ex-England captain added: “[I wish I played with] Zinedine Zidane, just how good he was. Messi is the best of all time but to play with Zidane [would be amazing]. He’s cool, calm, plays with both feet, goals and assists.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE

While Messi and Ronaldo are <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/how-cristiano-ronaldo-reached-pinnacle-ruthless-industry-eternal-rival-lionel-messi-more-talented/blt7c1b8b6dc87f5cbe" target="_blank">still going strong in their late 30s</a> – at Inter Miami and Al-Nassr respectively – Rooney retired in 2021 and is now trying his luck at management. Following a <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/cheek-complain-wayne-rooney-15-game-reign-manager-nfl-legend-tom-brady-boardroom-assessed-man-utd-birmingham-dwight-yorke/blt9145fa701a7534da" target="_blank">forgettable stint at Tom Brady’s Birmingham</a> in 2023-24, the 38-year-old has <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/wayne-rooney-back-management-man-utd-england-legend-plymouth-argyle-boss-birmingham-failure/blt692fc3ad844c27f4" target="_blank">inherited the reins at Championship side Plymouth</a>.

WHAT NEXT?

'Lionel Messi has more flair' - Cristiano Ronaldo snubbed by Wayne Rooney as ex-Man Utd team-mate insists Inter Miami superstar is the GOAT despite being given 'a lot of stick' | Goal.com Nigeria

Wayne Rooney has snubbed former Manchester United team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo in the GOAT debate, with Lionel Messi considered to have “more flair”.

&apos;Lionel Messi has more flair&apos; - Cristiano Ronaldo snubbed by Wayne Rooney as ex-Man Utd team-mate insists Inter Miami superstar is the GOAT despite being given &apos;a lot of stick&apos;