Tevez makes surprise claim! - Source: Getty
Tevez makes surprise claim! - Source: Getty
Carlos Tevez has named Paul Scholes as the best player he ever played with, placing him above Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
The Argentine made the claim on Rio Ferdinand Presents, the podcast hosted by his old United teammate. Ferdinand asked Tevez to pick between Scholes and David Silva and he did not need a second invitation in choosing the former Manchester United midfielder.
Tevez spent two seasons at Old Trafford after joining from West Ham in 2007, winning six trophies as part of a front line that also featured Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov.
The haul included back-to-back Premier League titles and the 2008 Champions League, won on penalties against Chelsea in Moscow. He also shared the Argentina dressing room with Lionel Messi for years.
Ferdinand framed the question around the attacking cast before narrowing it down:
“When I think about the front three. You, Ronaldo, [Wayne] Rooney and then [Dimitar] Berbatov. Just quickly a couple of quick questions. Scholes or David Silva?”
Tevez answered:
“Scholes. For me the best player. For me the best player ... Do you remember at training. Like this, no speak, nothing. First ball.
“All the time at training, pass, pass pass ... For me the best."
Scholes won 11 Premier League titles and two Champions Leagues across a United career that ran from 1994 to 2013. He never played for another club and scored 107 goals and registered 55 assists in 499 Premier League appearances for Manchester United.
Cristiano Ronaldo wins BOAT award ahead of Lionel Messi
Cristiano Ronaldo has just topped a vote built around his rivalry with Lionel Messi. His 2008 season with Manchester United won the inaugural Ballon d'Or of All Time (BOAT) poll, an initiative from France Football marking the 70th anniversary of the award.
Fans paid €1 a vote between October 1 and October 27, and the 42-goal campaign that brought United the Premier League and the Champions League finished first.
Messi's 2012, the year of 91 goals for club and country, came second, with Ronaldo's 2017 win in third place and the pair filling the top 12 between them. The organisers said the poll was not an official award or trophy. It settles a popularity contest rather than the argument itself.
Cristiano Ronaldo won the Ballon d'Or five times in his career, but Lionel Messi is the footballer to have won it the most, thanks to his record-extending eighth win back in 2023.