• Zlatan Ibrahimovic doesn’t think Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo are football’s GOAT
• He instead tipped Brazilian Ronaldo for the position after his stunning career
• Messi moved further ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo with his seventh Ballon d’Or
• Ibrahimovic thinks his former Barcelona team-mate has the edge over Ronaldo
• Ibrahimovic thinks his former Barcelona team-mate has the edge over Ronaldo

Zlatan Ibrahimovic believes Lionel Messi is better than Cristiano Ronaldo, but insists neither of them are the greatest footballer of all time, with Brazilian legend Ronaldo taking that prize in his opinion.

Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been at the pinnacle of the modern game for well over a decade now with both scoring a phenomenal amount of goals and winning almost everything there is to win. 

Messi was awarded his seventh Ballon d’Or on Monday night after another successful 12 months, while Ronaldo has five, meaning the Argentine has finally got the edge.

However, while Ibrahimovic, who played with Messi at Barcelona during the 2009-10 campaign, believes his former team-mate is better than Ronaldo, he still doesn’t think the Argentine is the greatest of all time.

When asked to choose between Messi and Ronaldo, the AC Milan striker, 40, told Corriere della Sera: ‘Both are very strong. I say Messi also because we played together.’

Ibrahimovic had one season with Messi at Barca but left on bitter terms after a bust-up with then boss Pep Guardiola, who the Swede has since labelled a ‘coward’ – and called Messi his ‘pet’. 

But when pushed to name his best-ever player, Ibrahimovic looked further afield and chose Brazilian legend Ronaldo. 

Ibrahimovic said: ‘Ronaldo “the Phenomenon”. As a child I imitated him.’

During his illustrious career Ronaldo won two World Cups with Brazil, a pair of Ballon d’Ors and netted 414 goals.  

He forged a reputation as one of the most clinical finishers in the history of the game during spells with Barcelona, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and AC Milan, although he suffered from several serious injuries which wiped out many of his peak years.

Another striker held in high regard by Ibrahimovic is Robert Lewandowski, who was unfortunate to miss out on this year’s Ballon d’Or to Messi.  

Messi claimed a maiden Copa America title with his country during 2021 and was also top scorer in LaLiga for the 2020-21 season with 30 goals as Barcelona finished third.

The 34-year-old also helped Barca win the Copa del Rey before moving to PSG on a free transfer in the summer.

But most were expecting the prize to go to Lewandowski after he maintained the incredible goalscoring form that made him favourite for last year’s prize before it was scrapped. 

The Poland international, 33, finished second after scoring 38 goals in 30 league games for Bayern in 2021, in addition to winning the Bundesliga. 

Asked for his thoughts on this year’s vote, Ibrahimovic added: ‘Leo lives for football. But Lewandowski deserved the Ballon d’Or this year.’

On Wednesday Ronaldo publicly backed claims from a fan account that Messi stole the Ballon d’Or from himself and Lewandowski. 

Ronaldo finished sixth and 435 votes astray of Messi, yet the Manchester United forward poured scorn on his Argentine rival’s victory, commenting ‘facts’ underneath a fan post detailing why he deserved the gong over Messi. 

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