Ronaldo vs Messi: Kroos Changes Tune on GOAT Debate After World Cup

• Toni Kroos has in the past backed Cristiano Ronaldo over Lionel Messi as the greatest player of all time
• Kroos and Ronaldo were teammates at Real Madrid where they won numerous trophies including three Champions League title
• Following Messi's heroics at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the German maestro has backtracked on earlier claims

Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos has changed his opinion on the ever-divisive GOAT debate following Argentina's Word Cup win on December 18th.

Lionel Messi inspired Argentina to beat France on post-match penalties to win his first-ever World Cup after five attempts.

Kroos played with Cristiano Ronaldo for almost five years at Real Madrid while Messi played for their El Classico rivals Barcelona. He has in the past declared that Ronaldo was the best player in the world.

Ronaldo vs Messi

Ronaldo has won five Ballon d'Ors in his career compared to Messi's seven. A lot of pundits have avered that with Messi winning the World Cup, the debate is now settled beyond any reasonable doubt.

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Kroos has now seemingly joined the bandwagon by backing Messi following his heroics in Qatar. In the past, he admitted that he was forbidden from mentioning Messi.

"From my playing days, it's Cristiano Ronaldo is the best player of all time. Of course, I'm biased because he made a decisive contribution to us winning a lot of titles," as quoted by the Daily Mail.

Argentina's World Cup win

But after Argentina's win, the 32-year-old was of the opinion that perhaps Messi deserved the title.

"In terms of individual performances in a championship, I've never seen a footballer play as regularly as this guy."

Kroos retired from international football last year and was therefore absent when Germany endured another heartbreaking group-stage exit in the World Cup.

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Kroos disagrees with Modric

Sports Brief had earlier reported that Toni Kroos has disagreed with his Real Madrid teammate Luka Modric over the eligibility of the penalty awarded against Croatia on December 13th. Croatia played Argentina in the first semifinal of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

The deadlock was broken after referee Daniele Orsato gave Argentina a penalty after goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic was adjudged to have hauled down Julian Alvarez.

Lionel Messi stepped up to score the resultant penalty to put the Albiceleste on course for a huge 3-0 win. Croatia players were angered by the decision with the Video Assistant Referee seemingly agreeing with the on-field decision.