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Manchester United legend Paul Scholes once sided with Lionel Messi instead of former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo in the GOAT debate. The Argentinean and the Portuguese have redefined football excellence in their esteemed careers so far.
Scholes played alongside the five-time Ballon d'Or winner for six seasons at Old Trafford, where they won the Premier League and the Champions League, among others. They shared the pitch on 183 occasions for the Red Devils and even contributed eight goals together.
However, speaking to ESPN in 2018 following Lionel Messi's brace against Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League, Scholes placed the Argentine maestro above Cristiano Ronaldo.
"Watching Messi against Tottenham at Wembley made me think about the Messi and [Cristiano] Ronaldo debate again. 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,” said Scholes.Scholes also penned a column in 2015 for The Standard outlining how hard it was to play against the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner.
"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. Elusive is the word that immediately springs to mind when I think about Messi’s style of play," wrote Scholes.He continued:
"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."Lionel Messi currently plies his trade with Inter Miami, while Cristiano Ronaldo plays for Al-Nassr.
How many times did Paul Scholes play against Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in his career?
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel MessiPaul Scholes faced Lionel Messi four times in his career, all during the Argentine's stay with Barcelona. La Pulga won two games and lost just once against the English midfielder.
Interestingly, that one defeat was in the Champions League semifinal in 2008, when Manchester United secured a 1-0 win over Barcelona via a Paul Scholes goal. Meanwhile, the legendary Englishman also played against Cristiano Ronaldo twice in his career, registering one draw and one defeat.
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Edited by Deepungsu Pandit
English (US)