Wayne Rooney cheekily reignites Cristiano Ronaldo spat and doubles down on Lionel Messi debate

Wayne Rooney has once again voiced his opinion that Lionel Messi tops Cristiano Ronaldo in the greatest-of-all-time debate.

The new Plymouth manager, who was Ronaldo's Manchester United team-mate for five seasons, has consistently expressed his preference for Messi when choosing the better footballer.

And Rooney remains firm on his stance in the GOAT conversation, despite facing criticism for his views. Gary Neville asked him the question once more during his latest appearance on The Overlap, reports the Mirror.

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"I think Messi, I think he's just the best ever," Rooney declared. "I get a lot of stick for saying Messi where it's as if, 'How can you say Messi, it's Ronaldo.' I understand that people can say Messi, people can say Ronaldo.

"They are both incredible, probably the best two players to ever play the game. For me, Messi has just got that little bit more extra flair, which I like in a player, so that's the reason."

Rooney later aimed a cheeky dig at Ronaldo when he had to name who he'd trust to take a penalty with his life on the line. "Me," he replied, before adding: "If it wasn't me - I was going to say Ronaldo but he'd probably miss now on purpose! If it wasn't me I'd go [Ruud] Van Nistelrooy."

Ronaldo wasn't happy with Rooney after he'd suggested he was becoming an "unwanted distraction" during his second spell at United, a tenure that ended in unfortunate circumstances after a fallout with Erik ten Hag.

He made jibes about Rooney's retirement and appearance in his explosive chat with Piers Morgan in 2022,