'I won the World Cup - I know who is better out of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi'

Brazilian legend Rivaldo has thrown his weight behind Lionel Messi in the eternal debate over who reigns supreme between the little Argentinian and Cristiano Ronaldo. For years, fans have been locked in heated discussions trying to settle the score on whether the ex-Barcelona maestro or the Portuguese goal machine is the brighest star of their generation.

The debate touches everything from raw goalscoring firepower to the sheer number of trophies lifted, but for a player of Rivaldo's standing - a World Cup winner with Brazil and Champions League victor with AC Milan in 2003 - it's Messi who stands a cut above.

Rivaldo heaped praise on Messi's ability to turn games on a sixpence, viewing it as a defining factor, and even voiced a yearning to have teamed up with the 37 year old, which would have been a dream come true.

In a 2017 interview with Betfair, Rivaldo first voiced his admiration, stating: "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 doubled down on his stance in 2019 after witnessing Messi's prowess in a commanding 3-0 Barcelona victory over Liverpool in the Champions League - that was infamoulsy cancelled out in the return leg - declaring: "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 legend Rivaldo also boldly claimed that Messi would dominate the year's top individual football honours, stating: "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 words proved prescient as the wizard went on to sweep major accolades, reports the Mirror.

Despite such praise for Messi, Rivaldo holds no less respect for sharpshooter Ronaldo, commenting in 2017: "Ronaldo? He is the most dangerous player at Real. It's hard to stop him, like Messi."

While lauding the duo, Rivaldo openly shared his belief that the pool of extraordinary talent present during his heyday eclipsed that of the current era: "I'll just say that both are very good players.

"However, in my time you could find more quality players than today (2017), in which you only hear about Messi, Ronaldo and Neymar."