During Ronaldo’s first breakout season in the league, he scored 47 goals for Barcelona while they were coached by Sir Bobby Robson.

Given his status as one of the game’s all-time greats, the Brazilian was able to play for both Barca and Real without drawing comparisons to another player, namely Luis Figo.

Inbetween that, Ronaldo played for Inter Milan, where two catastrophic knee injuries – partially caused by degeneration – threatened to damage his career totally.

The fact that he was able to regain his form and lead Brazil to the 2002 World Cup victory and become a key player for Real Madrid’s legendary Galacticos team attests to his undeniable brilliance.

Therefore, the football legend has a solid basis on which to evaluate the best players in the game’s history.

At a media event given by Santander Bank in 2021 (quotes via Goal), Ronaldo included Messi in his list of the four GOATs, which also included himself and Cristiano Ronaldo.

According to him, Pele, [Diego] Maradona, Lionel Messi, and Cristiano Ronaldo are the four greatest players of all time. They are the four greatest football players ever.

When asked who he would have liked to see sign with his team at the time, the Brazilian said Kylian Mbappe of Paris Saint-Germain.

Ronaldo said he would be “happy” if Messi won the 2022 World Cup, but he stopped short of stating he was delighted for Argentina, one of Brazil’s biggest rivals.

“I will nоt be thаt much оf а hypоcrite tо sаy I will be hаppy fоr аrgentinа becаuse it is nоt true,” he sаid (quоtes viа Dаily Mirrоr).

But of course I have a romantic view of football. Obviously, I’ll be fine with [Argentina winning] and I’ll cheer for any victor.