Manchester United's icon Paul Scholes settles Messi-Ronaldo 'GOAT' debate

In the debate about the greatest footballer of all time, Manchester United legend Paul Scholes was presented with the choice between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, and he made his preference clear without any hesitation. Scholes had the privilege of playing alongside Ronaldo at Manchester United for six years, from 2003 to 2009, before Ronaldo’s move to Real Madrid for £80 million.

During their time together, particularly between 2006 and 2009, the duo achieved remarkable success, securing three consecutive Premier League titles. Throughout that period, Scholes witnessed Ronaldo grow as a striker during which he netted 118 goals.

Scholes feels Messi is just better of the two

Scholes thinks that Ronaldo has yet to reach the same level as his long-time rival, Messi. Reflecting on his experiences, Scholes noted the two finals he lost to Messi during his time at Barcelona in 2009 and 2011. However, he came to appreciate Messi's all-around football skills more fully after witnessing his remarkable performance against Spurs at Wembley in the Champions League.

“Watching Messi against Tottenham at Wembley made me think about the Messi and [Cristiano] Ronaldo debate again,” Scholes said.

“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 added.

In 2008, Scholes had the remarkable opportunity to compete against a young Messi during a Champions League semifinal, where he scored the decisive goal that propelled Manchester United to the final against Chelsea. In a 2015 column for the Standard, Scholes shared his insights on the challenges of playing 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," Scholes said.

“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,” he added.