Former Manchester United midfielder, Kieran Richardson, has become the latest football personality to join the Greatest of All Time (GOAT) debate on who is the best player between Paris Saint-Germain’s Lionel Messi and Al-Nassr forward Cristiano Ronaldo.
Richardson, a former teammate with Ronaldo during their time at Man United, chose Messi over the Portugal captain.
He claimed that winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup allowed Messi to pull ahead of Ronaldo and emerge as the undisputed best player in history.
Speaking on The Steven Sulley Study podcast, Richardson said, “They are both the GOATs, but, if I had to pick one, then I have to pick Messi, even though I know Ronaldo, I have played with Ronaldo, and I love Ronaldo.
“They are both amazing; they are both GOATs. When they pass away, they will still be talked about forever, but just because Messi got that World Cup.”
“It is a massive thing having that World Cup, because even before Messi had the World Cup, everyone was saying: ‘yeah, but he has not won it yet. He can’t be the best of all time because [Diego] Maradona won it; Pele won it’.
“Now there is no question; he has won the pinnacle any footballer would want to win.”