Paul Scholes didn't hesitate when choosing between Lionel Messi and former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo in GOAT debate

Paul Scholes did not hesitate when he asked to choose between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the age-old GOAT debate.

Scholes played alongside Ronaldo for six years at Manchester United between 2003 and 2009 prior to his then £80 million move to Real Madrid.

The pair won three Premier League titles in a row between 2006 and 2009, with Scholes witnessing Ronaldo score 118 goals in 292 games across his first spell.

They also won the Champions League in 2008, with Ronaldo claiming the first of his five Ballon d'Ors off the back off that triumph and stunning season.

But despite that, Scholes feels as though Ronaldo is still below Messi, his long-time rival.

Scholes lost two finals to Messi at Barcelona in 2009 and 2011 but it was years later, when he destroyed Spurs at Wembley in the Champions League, that the United legend realised the Argentine ace is clear as an all-rounder footballer.

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"Watching Messi against Tottenham at Wembley made me think about the Messi and [Cristiano] Ronaldo debate again," Scholes said, speaking on ESPN.

“Messi, but Ronaldo is brilliant.

“Ronaldo is sensational at what he does, with pace and power. He scores, he takes free-kicks.

“But as an all-round footballer, Messi – wow, his passing – has absolutely everything.”

Scholes did get the better of a young Messi in a Champions League semi final against Barcelona in 2008, scoring the winning goal to set up a final with Chelsea.

But he has gone on record to admit that he tried his best to stay away from the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner as he tried to avoid being humiliated.

In 2015, Scholes penned a column for the Standard where he explained just how hard it is playing against Messi.

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"I am not ashamed to admit that in the games against Barcelona I spent a lot of the time just hoping he would take up positions as far away from me as possible," Scholes wrote.

"Elusive is the word that immediately springs to mind when I think about Messi’s style of play.

"You think you have an eye on him and then – blink – he has gone, only to reappear somewhere else in space, with the ball. When you try to face up to him and make a tackle you know what it is he is going to do with the ball. The problem is staying with him."