Chelsea legend shuns Ronaldo, names Messi and 1 other Barcelona icon as 2 best players he played against

• Frank Lampard omits Cristiano Ronaldo's name in the list of the best two players he has played against
• The retired football star instead said Ronaldinho and Lionel Messi were the best he faced during his illustrious career
• After retirement, Lampard has gone ahead to manage the Blues but was sacked after his results aren't impressive

Former Chelsea midfielder and manager Frank Lampard has named Ronaldinho and Lionel Messi as the best two players he ever played against in his career.

Despite playing against Cristiano Ronaldo for six years across competitions, the 43-year-old didn't have a space for the Portuguese in his mentions.

Apart from the countless number of times they met in the Premier League, FA Cup and other competitions, both stars battled it out for the Champions League trophy in 2008 - a silverware that went to Manchester United after penalty shootouts.

However, in spite of the many experiences with the five-time Ballon d'Or winner, the Englishman listed both South Americans as the most difficult as reported by Daily Star.

What Frank Lampard said

"There’s two that I would say – one is Messi because I think he’s just the best.

“The other one is Ronaldinho because, in 2005, we went to the Nou Camp, it was my first encounter with a player on a different planet.

“Him and Eto’o on that day, but particularly Ronaldinho’s movements, I was like, wow, this is different.”

Lampard did not totally rule Ronaldo out but just insisted that he never encountered the 36-year-old when he was at his best.

The former Juventus forward parted ways with Man United in 2009 and went ahead to win four more Champions League titles having lifted the silverware the previous year - beating Chelsea in the process via penalties.

Lampard made Ronaldo's admission

“I didn’t play Ronaldo at his peak. I played him at Man United and he was getting towards it, but not in those years at Madrid, where he was just ridiculous,” Lampard said to Coral.

“I feel bad with Cristiano, because what he has done in massive games, and winning finals and stuff; I think that’s such a tight call.

“I didn’t really come against him then, but I feel I did with Messi, and I never got near him – he was just amazing.”

Ronaldo is now back at Old Trafford over a decade after initially leaving them for Los Blancos in 2009.

Cristiano Ronaldo Jr didn't recognise Lionel Messi

Legit.ng earlier reported that Cristiano Ronaldo's first son met his father's long-time rival, Lionel Messi, during the 2017 Ballon d'Or ceremony and the youngster thought the Argentine was too short to be real.

The 11-year-old had the opportunity to see the Argentine in real life at the gala four years ago when he picked his fifth award presentation.

And due to the Paris Saint Germain's 5ft 5in height, Ronaldo Jr actually found it difficult to believe it was him when his grandmother pointed the Barcelona legend to him.