Rafael Nadal settles GOAT debate between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, reveals his favourite - WATCH

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are two of the greatest footballers of all time and have won the top individual prize in domestic football, Ballon d’Or, several times. Since making their respective debuts in the early 2000s, Messi and Ronaldo achieved unbelievable success and won everything that was there to win at the top level. While fans of the two players continue to argue over who is the greatest of them, tennis legend Rafael Nadal has revealed his favourite.

Currently on vacation as he continues to recover from arthroscopic surgery for a left hip flexor injury, Nadal, while strolling down the street, came across a group of fans who asked him an impromptu question – who is better between the two footballers? Nadal, who looked in a hurry, said he feels Messi is better but that he is a Real Madrid fan.

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Earlier this year, Nadal announced he won't compete in any Grand Slam in 2023 owing to his long-standing fight with injuries. He underwent surgery in Barcelona on the eve of his birthday and will likely take five months to recover.

While he led the Slam tally (22) at one point, Novak Djokovic’s purple patch lately saw him surpass the French Open King with 23 Grand Slam titles. The Serbian recently came close to winning his record 24th title at Wimbledon but fell shy of his target against world number one Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz.

MLS’ Inter Miami welcomes Messi

Lionel Messileft his first major club FC Barcelona in 2021 owing to LA Liga rules around salary caps and joined French club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) on a two-year deal. Following the fallout with PSG over his unauthorised trip to Saudi for commercial commitment around April this year, Messi decided to leave them.

When the summer transfer window opened, Major League Soccer (MLS) side Inter Miami announced Messi’s signing, stunning everyone, with several reports suggesting Messi was keen on returning to Camp Nou for his final European run.

While that didn’t happen, Messi made his MLS debut last Friday against Cruz Azul. He came off the bench to score a 94th-minute winner in the Leagues Cup opener.

On the other hand, Cristiano Ronaldo, who moved to Saudi Arabia following a fallout with Manchester United manager Eric Ten Hag during the World Cup, is enjoying his time at Al Nassr - a Saudi Pro League side, that now has bagged services of several top European League players like Seko Fofana and Alex Telles.

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