Man United starlet Alejandro Garnacho cannot make his mind up on whether Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo is the 'GOAT'

At just 18, Alejandro Garnacho has had the pleasure of rubbing shoulders with both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

On Thursday night, he lined up alongside Ronaldo for the first time ever when he was handed his first professional start in United's 3-0 Europa League win over Sheriff Tiraspol.

Garnacho, who scored twice in the FA Youth Cup final victory last season, played 80 minutes and excited fans with his dribbling and directness down the left flank in a superb showing.

He produced an utterly outrageous touch to bring the ball out of the sky and looks like he will figure in Erik ten Hag's plans more prominently.

After the game, he came back on to the pitch just so he could walk off with his idol Ronaldo. He took to social media to post a picture of him with the Portuguese superstar, complete with the caption, "I don't know if it's real or if I'm dreaming."

Garnacho is a self-proclaimed Ronaldo fanboy and as well as performing his SIU celebration, he was delighted to be given the matchball after the former Real Madrid man scored a hat-trick against Norwich last term.

However, being an Argentine, he does also have ties to Messi. He was called up to the Argentina senior squad earlier this year and trained with the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner.

On separate occasions, Garnacho has posted pictures of him with both legendary players on Instagram using the 'GOAT' emoji for each of the pair to avoid upsetting any of them.

Normally you'd encourage deciding on one 'GOAT' but given Garnacho is still just 18 and enjoying being in the company of the two greats, we'll let him off.

He's a serious talent and Ten Hag liked what he saw from him - not only in his first start but also his improved attitude of late.

"I think it was a good performance from him," Ten Hag told BBC Sport.

"He did what I expect him to do. First, he deserved the chance after the last weeks. The start was difficult for him in the season.

"I was not happy with him, but the last weeks I was happy with him - he got a better attitude, more resilience, more determination and what you see he is a talent."