Carlos Tevez snubbed Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi when naming 'complete player' as his greatest teammate

Carlos Tevez is one of the few players to have had the pleasure of playing alongside both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo but he does not consider either to be his greatest teammate.

Tevez was teammates with Ronaldo at United, winning two Premier League titles and the Champions League. But he also witnessed Messi's brilliance up close and personal for the Argentina national team, where he was capped 76 times in a 19-year long career.

However, much to the surprise of many, Tevez had a very different selection for his favourite ever teammate.

After singling out his former Boca Juniors strike partner Martin Palermo, Tevez waxed lyrical about United's record goalscorer Wayne Rooney, calling him "very complete" and seeing similarities between their humble upbringings.

"I’ve had the honour of playing with some great players," Tevez said in 2009, as per The Mirror.

"At United, I had Cristiano in my team and obviously, I have Messi in the national team. At Boca Juniors I had striker Martin Palermo for a teammate – he was very impressive. He was the one who put two goals past Real Madrid in Japan. But the one I like the most is Rooney. He has everything. He’s very complete.

"Plus we share the same humble origins. Although the humbleness he experienced growing up in Liverpool was obviously a bit more bearable than Fuerte Apache in Argentina, where I grew up."

Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez had a brilliant understanding on the pitch. Image: Getty

Tevez, Ronaldo and Rooney formed a devastating trident during their time together at Old Trafford and the former Derby County manager admitted he was "devastated" when he left in a shock 2009 move to rivals Manchester City.

Wayne Rooney repaid the compliment to Carlos Tevez

Concerned with the direction the club was going in, Rooney handed in a transfer request.

The England legend was paired with Dimitar Berbatov, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Robin van Persie at United but he returned the favour to Tevez in picking him as his favourite strike partner.

"Tevez. I just loved our connection," Rooney told SPORTbible.

"The two of us up front, we complimented each other really well.

“Normally if I played with Louis Saha, Ruud van Nistelrooy or Robin van Persie – these strikers were always the No.9 and I’d play as a No.10.

“With Tevez we could rotate, I’d be the No.9, he’d take the No.9 spot and I’d be No.10. When we lost the ball we’d be like two bulls trying to get it back.

“As a strike partner, he was the one I enjoyed playing with the most.”