Happy Birthday Leo! 5 great managers who chose Messi over Ronaldo

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have cemented their places among the greatest players in football history Due to their outstanding performances for club and country.

Over the past two decades, the pair have dominated the sport, setting record after record and guiding their teams to success after success.

It is only natural that these legendary players are constantly compared to one another, given their extraterrestrial characteristics.

Although Messi has made a more significant overall impact on football than Ronaldo, who is arguably the game's most prolific goalscorer.

Apart from fans, some outstanding managers prefer the Argentine superstar to his Portuguese counterpart.

Sports Brief looks at the top five gaffers who chose Messi over Ronaldo.

Fabio Capello

Fabio Capello, a former manager of AC Milan and Juventus, has never concealed his preference for Lionel Messi over Cristiano Ronaldo in the GOAT discussion.

Leo has an advantage over his enduring rival, according to the Italian, because of his natural talent.

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Joachim Low

Low led Germany to beat Lionel Messi's Argentina in the final to win the 2014 World Cup.

When asked by the Bild to choose his favourite, the German wasted no time in stating his preference.

I would stick with Messi," the Low replied, via Tribuna.

"Cristiano Ronaldo is sensational, a very good professional, an incredible goalscoring machine for many years, but Messi is the most complete player I have seen.

"On top of scoring goals, he's a genius who provides 30 to 40 assists every season for 10 years, as well as scoring 50 or so goals. The speed that he eludes rivals at makes him uncatchable, and he can leave eight or nine players behind him."

Jurgen Klopp

With no doubt, Jurgen Klopp has experienced playing against Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

A few years ago, when his team faced the duo, it was the Argentine who put on an amazing performance.

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Messi scored twice and provided an assist as Barcelona defeated the Reds 3-0 at Camp Nou in the 2018–2019 Champions League semifinals.

His second goal of the game came on a breathtaking long-range free kick that miraculously slammed into the far right corner of the goal.

Liverpool and Real Madrid met in the final of the same competition the season before.

Although the Spanish powerhouses prevailed, Ronaldo had little of an impact on the game; instead, goals from Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale sealed the outcome.

No wonder Klopp picked Messi over Ronaldo.

Diego Simeone

Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone needs no explanation from anyone about Lionel Messi's greatness. The tactician has suffered from the genius of the playmaker several times while he was still in La Liga.

Simeone also offered his thoughts on the eternal debate concerning who the better player is between Leo and Cristiano Ronaldo. Addressing a leaked Whatsapp video of himself in 2018, the Atletico boss clarified:

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"If I had to choose between Messi and Ronaldo then I'd most likely choose Messi. Yes I said [Ronaldo] on the video, but the conversation was between me and [Atleti assistant] German Burgos, talking about football as everyone talks about it."

When I talked about Messi and Ronaldo it wasn't from the perspective of who is the best in the world. I just meant that if you have the chance to sign one of them for a normal club, with normal players, Ronaldo would probably fit in better. But with Messi, surrounded by great players, Lionel Messi is better than Cristiano Ronaldo."

Pep Guardiola

There's no better manager to talk about Lionel Messi's greatness than Pep Guardiola. The duo worked together at Barcelona between 2008 and 2012, enjoying lots of success and playing arguably the most beautiful brand of football ever witnessed.

Leo won four consecutive Ballon d'Or awards under Pep's guidance as well as a whopping 14 trophies. As anyone would expect, the now-Manchester City manager believes the Argentine has no rivals - not even Cristiano Ronaldo.