'I won the World Cup & UCL – Rivaldo clears who is better Messi or Ronaldo'

Lionel Messi is better than Cristiano Ronaldo, according to iconic Brazilian ace Rivaldo.

The immemorial clash between the two leading stars of the 21st century has split opinions for nigh on a decade, as fans of the beautiful game disagree over who is the greatest between the diminutive Argentinian and the towering Portuguese powerhouse.

Some point to goals, others to accolades, but in the eyes of someone who has played to the highest level - having won the World Cup with his country and the Champions League with AC Milan in 2003 - it is the South American who prevails.

Rivaldo cited Messi's ability to 'make differences' during games as the key characteristic that made him the best in the world and stressed his wish that he could have one day played on the same side as the 37-year-old.

The Brazilian first chimed in on the eternal matter during a 2017 interview with Betfair, simply claiming: “I would like to play with Messi. It would be amazing. He is the best of the world, the one who makes more differences."

Rivaldo reiterated very clearly where he stood on the matter in 2019, stating after Barcelona 's 3-0 Champions League win over Liverpool: "I don't think Barcelona will ever have a player like Messi in its history. He is unique and the best player in the world."

The Brazilian also predicted that Messi would collect a clean sweep of all the top individual accolades that year, adding: "Honestly, I do not see anyone this season capable of overshadowing him to win the individual awards for best player on the planet. And we are only in May!”

“But he's going to win everything: Ballon d'Or, FIFA World Player..." Those prophecies came true and further established the superstar as the world's best during his reign.

That is not to say that Rivaldo holds any disdain for Messi’s opposite number, Ronaldo. In 2017, he also acknowledged that the great Portuguese forward is among the finest the game has ever seen.

"Ronaldo? He is the most dangerous player at Real. It's hard to stop him, like Messi,” Rivaldo added. “This is because both score a lot of goals, and you never know what is going to be the next thing they will invent for scoring."

Despite holding the pair in such high regard, Rivaldo did further admit that he feels as though the crops of talent that accompanied Messi and Ronaldo at their peaks could not stand up to those who strutted their stuff during the Brazilian's time at the top.

"I'll just say that both are very good players,” he continued. "However, in my time you could find more quality players than today (2017), in which you only hear about Messi, Ronaldo and Neymar."