Cristiano Ronaldo (left) and Lionel Messi - both pics GETTY
Cristiano Ronaldo (left) and Lionel Messi - both pics GETTY
Liverpool winger Rio Ngumoha offered his take on the greatest of all time debate, favouring Lionel Messi over Cristiano Ronaldo in multiple categories.
Messi and Ronaldo are widely regarded as two of the best in the sport, scoring nearly 900 goals each for club and country over their illustrious careers spanning over two decades.
Having won multiple big titles in club and international football, the duo have won individual honours galore, with 13 Ballon d'Or titles between them.
Ngumoha, 17, shared his preferred player over multiple key categories, ignoring Ronaldo ovet Messi, in an interaction with ESPN:
While Ronaldo is the game's most prolific goalscoerer in the game's history, with 962 strikes for club and country, he was overlooked for multiple key categories like best striker, best winger, best aura and greatest of all time.
Messi is closing in on 900 career goals, being just two away from joining Ronaldo in the exclusive group, a milestone he's expected to accomplish in the first few weeks of the 2026 MLS season.
How did Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi fare last season?
Cristiano Ronaldo (left) and Lionel Messi
Cristiano Ronaldo (left) and Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are coming off productive 2024-25 seasons with their respective clubs, Inter Miami in MLS and Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League.
Messi registered a rich haul of 43 goals and 26 assists in nearly 50 games across competitions. That included six goals and seven assists in six games in the Herons' victorious MLS Cup campaign, their first ever triumph in the competition, after finishing third in the regular season.
Ronaldo, meanwhile, netted 35 times in 41 outings across competitions for the Knights of Najd. The tally included 25 strikes in the league, where Al-Nassr finished third, 13 points off winners Al-Ittihad (83)