BRAZIL legend Kaka has snubbed his old Real Madrid pal Cristiano Ronaldo – by backing ‘genius’ Lionel Messi as the greatest of the dynamic duo.
The former AC Milan midfielder spent four seasons at the Bernabeu with the Portuguese superstar, until Kaka left in 2013.
Kaka (centre) picked Lionel Messi as a better player than his old team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo
But that held no sway with the Brazilian, who plumped for his fellow South American Messi when asked who he thought was the best of the two superstars.
Kaka and Ronaldo both joined Los Blancos in the summer of 2009.
He told a live Fifa Q&A online session: “I played with Cristiano and he’s really amazing, but I’ll go with Messi.
“He’s a genius, a pure talent. The way he plays is incredible.
“Cristiano is a machine. It’s not just the way he’s strong, powerful and fast; he’s strong mentally.
“He always wants to win and play. To be the best. For me, that’s the most incredible thing he has.
“In the history of sport, they [Messi and Cristiano] are definitely in the top five.
“We are very lucky to have been able to see both of them.”
He did vote for one Ronaldo though – picking the ex-Barcelona, Real Madrid, PSV and Inter Milan striker as the best Brazilian he has ever played with.
He said: “I played alongside some greats in my career, but Ronaldo [Nazario] was the best.
“After that, I’d say Ronaldinho, who I was able to play against many times, both at Milan and Real Madrid.”
It is not the first time that the Portuguese Ronaldo has come worse off in the debate over who is better.
Argentine great Diego Maradona understandably went for his fellow countryman Messi, who has six Ballon d’Ors to Ronaldo’s five.
But Brazilian Pele, the greatest player of all time in most people’s eyes, did go for fellow Portuguese-speaking star Ronaldo.
The 35-year-old, now at Juventus, scored 311 LaLiga goals.
Messi, 32, is now on 409.
But Ronaldo is ahead overall with a total of 437 top-flight goals in England, Italy and Spain.
Former Manchester United stars David Beckham and Paul Scholes both picked Messi as the best of the pair.
France World Cup winner Zinedine Zidane, Portugal team-mate Nani and former Brazil legend Roberto Carlos both picked Ronaldo but Dutch striker Marco van Basten believes Messi is the greatest of these two geniuses.
Brazilian Ronaldinho, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and former England boss Fabio Capello all picked Messi.
But it is an argument that never ceases to stop filling the conversation at pubs and football clubs across the globe.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
