When Ibrahimovic Settled GOAT Debate Between Messi and Ronaldo with Just 6 Words

• The biggest football conundrum since the 'Diego Maradona vs Pele' debate continues to rage on even after Messi's World Cup success.
• But veteran striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has emphatically chosen his greatest footballer between Messi and Ronaldo.
• Ronaldo and the Argentine genius boast an incredible 12 Ballons d’Or between them.

The debate of who is better between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi has dominated the minds of football experts and fans everywhere for the past decade and will continue into the future.

In a 2016 interview, enigmatic striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic took his pick between Messi and Ronaldo, claiming that the Argentine was in his own league.

Sharing his opinion on the Messi-Ronaldo debate, the veteran striker picked Lionel Messi without hesitation, describing his ex-Barcelona teammate in glowing words.

“I think Messi is one of a kind. What he’s doing, I don’t know if we will see another player do the things that he does,” the AC Milan superstar said in 2016 as quoted by Sportskeeda.

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“It is different [with Ronaldo] because he is the result of hard training. It is not natural.”

While Ibrahimovic is certain about his choice between Messi and Ronaldo football fans remain divided on the never-ending debate.

Meanwhile, Messi and CR7 will cross paths in what appears to be a final showdown between the duo when Messi's Paris Saint-Germain face an All-Star Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal side led by Ronaldo on Thursday evening, per Mirror.

Fans divided on GOAT debate

Fans have shared varied opinions on who is the football GOAT between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, in the wake of the 2022 World Cup.

The Qatar edition of the global football tournament was touted to settle the never-ending debate, with the two football greats making each their fifth appearance in the competition.

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Argentina's World Cup glory had many suggesting that Messi has effectively cemented his place as the football GOAT.

Ibrahimovic slams Ronaldo, ten Hag

Sports Brief earlier reported that Zlatan Ibrahimovic has now come out to admonish both Cristiano Ronaldo and Erik ten Hag after their bitter fallout last month.

Ronaldo and ten Hag were on different pages since the latter's appointment. Their differences culminated in the veteran striker undertaking an explosive interview with Piers Morgan to give his side of the story.

Among other things, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner claimed he did not respect the former Ajax manager, Goal reports.