Former Manchester United star makes Messi vs Ronaldo claim

This summer transfer window was one of the most memorable in history as Manchester United brought back Cristiano Ronaldo to Old Trafford while Paris Saint-Germain managed to sign Lionel Messi. Not many people would have expected two of the greatest players in history to change clubs within the space of a few weeks but that is exactly what happened. Of course, once again, it gave rise to the age old debate of who is better between the two.

Both Messi and Ronaldo have shown unimaginable consistency over the years and have stayed at the top of the game for almost a decade-and-a-half.

Messi has seven Ballon d’Ors to his name while Ronaldo has five, and other than them, only Luka Modric has been able to win one since 2008.

They might have stayed at the top of the game for such a long period of time, but the debate continues to rumble on about who is better between the two. And Gerard Pique has given his take on the matter. As reported by the Mirror, he told BT Sport:

"“We are talking about two of the best players, not just in the world but the history of this sport.“I always said that Messi has some talent that no one has. I mean, he has the ball and his speed controlling the ball.“The ball doesn’t go two metres far from his foot, it’s always there. It’s impossible to catch him, this talent I didn’t see from anyone“Cristiano Ronaldo is such a different player, they are very different. He is tall, strong, he’s really complete. He can do anything.“He can do goals with the head, free-kicks, penalties, take one on one.“But for me it’s like Messi is not human but Cristiano is the best of the humans.”"

Former Manchester United star gives his take on Messi vs Ronaldo debate

Pique is one of the few players who has seen both Messi and Ronaldo very closely. He was at Manchester United during the Portuguese superstar’s first stint at the Theatre of Dreams.

And then, he moved to Barcelona, where he would remain a teammate of Messi for years, as the Argentine continued to mesmerise the footballing world season after season. Thus, he will have a pretty good view of the matter, having known both players well.

When it comes to the Messi vs Ronaldo question, there might not be a clear answer at all. Ultimately, like all art, and football is an art, it comes down to what one prefers. But it has been a real pleasure to see two of the greatest in the history of the game at the peak of their powers.