Rio Ferdinand has named Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in his all-time Barcelona and Real Madrid combined XI. The Manchester United legend hesitated while picking the best position for the Portuguese superstar, but got there in the end.
Speaking to Thmanyah Sports, Ferdinand took no time in picking Iker Casillas as his goalkeeper for the all-time XI. The Englishman did not waste time picking Dani Alves as the right-back, but chose Roberto Carlos over Marcelo as his left-back.
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Real Madrid legend Fernando Hierro was an instant pick at center-back, before Ronald Koeman was picked to partner him after some thought process. The midfield was arguably the toughest to pick for Ferdinand, as evidenced by the names he started finalizing.
Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, and Zinedine Zidane got the nod in the end, but the Englishman admitted that he had more names in mind. He also wanted to pick Sergio Busquets, Toni Kroos, and Luka Modric, but could not fit them into his XI.
Lionel Messi was the easy pick at right wing, and the former defender initially went with Cristiano Ronaldo on the left wing. However, he changed his former teammate’s position, as he did not want Ronaldo Nazario as the striker, and moved the Portuguese superstar to accommodate Barcelona legend Ronaldinho on the left wing.
Barcelona legend Lionel Messi or Real Madrid legend Cristiano Ronaldo? Rio Ferdinand picks
Rio Ferdinand spoke to TNT Sports‘ YouTube channel in 2021 when he was asked to pick between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The Manchester United legend was quick to praise the Barcelona and Real Madrid legends and said:
“Cristiano Ronaldo or Messi? I feel that we should just enjoy them. They’re here, we’re blessed to be a part of this generation that can sit and watch them and play against, I was fortunate enough to do that. And they’re different players to me. One is just an out and out goalscorer and one of them is more involved in the game.”
“I think Messi is the one who likes to get involved in the game and can play the final pass but also his numbers in terms of goals are ridiculous. And Cristiano is just obsessed with scoring goals and being the person that decides the match.”
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi could face each other one more time on the international stage in the FIFA World Cup quarterfinals, if they top their groups and win their two knockout round games.
Edited by Sripad
