Since they began their respective soccer careers, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been pitted against each other, sparking a debate that continues to divide opinion on who is the better player.

However, a former teammate of the Portugal captain at Manchester United took a risk and chose his favorite. And although his answer was not surprising, he revealed one condition.

Rio Ferdinand chose Cristiano over Messi

The former England defender shared a locker room with the current Al-Nassr captain during his first stint with the Red Devils from 2003 to 2009. Both won numerous titles, including the Premier League and the Champions League in 2008.

Despite this, Ferdinand also faced Lionel Messi when the Argentine wore the Barcelona colors. For this reason, when Rio was asked in an interview with the Saudi media outlet Thamanya about his preference among various players,he revealed a condition for choosing between the two legends. He first chose Kylian Mbappé over Robert Lewandowski, Vinicius Jr., Raphinha, Bellingham, and Lamine Yamal, but leaned toward Benzema over the French striker and Luis Suarez. Then, Messi prevailed over Karim and Gareth Bale.

However, Leo faced CR7, and although the 47-year-old former player chose one of them, he clarified: "It depends on the team, but for one game, I would take Cristiano."

Even though he chose the Portuguese player, Ferdinand does not deny the impact that the Argentine captain has had on soccer.

In fact, in 2021, in a conversation with TNT Sports, Rio advised that instead of pitting them against each other or comparing them, "we should just enjoy them." However, he made a clear distinction between the two: "I think Messi is the one who likes to get involved in the game and can play the final pass, but also his numbers in terms of goals are ridiculous. And Cristiano is just obsessed with scoring goals and being the person who decides the match."

The truth is that, while CR7 is fighting to reach 1,000 goals and be the only player in soccer history to achieve this (he needs 42 more goals to reach that mark), Lionel is the player with the most assists in the history of the sport, with a total of 407.

Despite this, one thing is certain: after two decades and despite the numbers, goals, assists, and titles of both legends, soccer's greatest rivalry is far from being decided.