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Former Manchester United player Wayne Rooney has chosen his side in the biggest football debate of all — Who is the greater player between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. The two have been embroiled in this competition for a very long time, with the two players fighting among themselves sharing 12 Ballon D'Ors between each other.
And with Messi preparing to play his final match of the FIFA World Cup, the debate has resurfaced, especially given that the two talismans for their respective countries are in their last FIFA World Cup.
While Messi is still a part of the tournament and will play the final on Sunday, December 18 — His second World Cup final in five editions — Ronaldo was eliminated in the Quarterfinal after Portugal suffered a 1-0 loss to Morocco. Messi has made it clear that he will not be returning for the 2026 edition of the tournament when he will be 39 years old.
Cristiano Ronaldo on the other hand is 37 and might have played his last World Cup game against the North African underdogs.
Meanwhile, Rooney quote tweeted a 10-year-old tweet, where he had previously claimed at Messi was the best player in the world, and after the Argentine's magical performance in their 3-0 win over Croatia in the semifinals, Rooney brought that tweet back to the fore and said, "nothing has changed."
The old tweet came after Barcelona thrashed Bayer Leverkusen 7-1 in the 2011-12 Champions League season where Lionel Messi scored five goals in a single match.
Rooney fell out with Cristiano Ronaldo before the World Cup when Ronaldo called his former Manchester United teammate a 'rat'. Ronaldo's comments came after Rooney criticised the player for his behaviour at the club. Asked about his response to Ronaldo's comments, Rooney kept it civil on Live TV and told CNN that his comments will be dealt with by the club but that does not mean that he is not one of the greatest players of all time alongside Lionel Messi.
Ronaldo's exit from the FIFA World Cup sparked a set of criticism from his girlfriend Georgina, who criticised the Portugal coach.
"Today your friend and coach decided wrong. That friend for whom so many words of admiration and respect you have. The same as when you got into the game, he saw how everything changed, but it was too late. You can't underestimate the best player in the world, his most powerful weapon," Georgina had written.
