Cristiano Ronaldo's teammate courts GOAT debate after referring to Messi as the greatest

• Manchester United’s Alejandro Garnacho was among the millions who wished Lionel Messi a happy birthday on Friday
• The youngster went a step further by implying Messi was the greatest of all time
• This caught the attention of some fans, who remembered Garnacho saying the same about Ronaldo in April

Manchester United youngster Alejandro Garnacho on Friday, June 24 reignited the debate on who is the Greatest Of All Time (GOAT) in football with a lovely message to Lionel Messi on the PSG star’s birthday.

Messi turned 35 on Friday and social media was abuzz, as millions of fans took to celebrate the only player to win 7 Ballon d’Ors.

Among them was Garnacho, who is teammates with Messi’s age-old rival Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United.

The 17-year-old, who also happens to be international teammates with Messi, took to social media to send his birthday wishes, and he went a step further to add a goat emoji to his caption.

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Many fans are aware of the fact that a goat emoji is usually a declaration that one is the greatest of all time.

Garnacho met Messi for the first time as the pair linked up whilst on international duty after the end of the 2021/22 campaign.

However, the rising teenage star is also fond of Cristiano Ronaldo, whom he spent a lot of time with, in the domestic season.

Back in April, Garnacho was on the news again, this time after being slammed by Sergio Aguero for suggesting Cristiano Ronaldo was the greatest.

It came at the back of Manchester United’s 3-2 victory over Norwich City, a game where Ronalo bagged a hat trick, including a powerful free-kick.

At the time, Garnacho himself took to Instagram to share a photo of himself and Ronaldo, along with the caption: "Greatest of all times”.

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In May, the teen attacker copied Ronaldo’s iconic ‘Siu’ celebration after scoring in Manchester United Youth team’s win over Nottingham Forest.

Footage of Messi watching 2014 World Cup heartbreak

Elsewhere, Sports Brief reported of an interesting clip of Lionel Messi looking at Argentina's 2014 World Cup final loss to Germany.

The footage, which is either pleasing or painful depending on whether you are a Messi die-hard or not, captures Messi's reactions as his side came close to winning football's biggest trophy.

Argentina were set to cap off a wonderful run and win the World Cup on the home soil of their eternal rivals Brazil. But a couple of missed chances against Germany saw Messi miss out on the only trophy missing in his impressive cabinet.