Brazil and Real Madrid star Ronaldo Nazario has selected his four greatest players of all time, and they include Barcelona great Lionel Messi.

Ronaldo first gained notoriety as a football star when playing for Barcelona, where he scored 47 goals in a single season while the team was 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 a World Cup victory in 2002 and then go on to perform for the legendary Real Madrid Galacticos side shows how gifted he truly was.

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

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

He declared, “Pele, [Diego] Maradona, Lionel Messi, and Cristiano Ronaldo are the four names that come to mind when I think of the best in the history of the game. They are the four greatest football players ever.

The Brazilian was also asked to select his ideal signing at the time, and he mentioned 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.

Specifically, he said (quotes via Daily Mirror): “I will not be that much of a hypocrite to claim I will be delighted for Argentina because it’s not true.

But of course I have a romantic view of football. Yes, I’ll take [a win for Argentina] and cheer for any champion.