Ronaldo Nazario didn't hesitate when picking Lionel Messi as one of his four greatest footballers of all time

Real Madrid and Brazil icon Ronaldo Nazario didn't hesitate when naming Lionel Messi among his four greatest players of all time.

Ronaldo is one of the greatest footballers of all time himself, having starred at Barcelona under Sir Bobby Robson before making the move to Inter Milan.

He won the Ballon d'Or in 1997, and was named as the Player of the Tournament at the World Cup in 1998.

However, the following year, Ronaldo suffered a knee tendon injury which forced him out of action for five months.

Upon his comeback in April 2000, the Brazilian suffered another, career-threatening, knee injury - which was partially caused by degeneration.

Although he had to adapt his playing style, he would eventually recover from those setbacks and enjoyed some of the finest years of his career as one of the 'Galacticos' at Real Madrid.

He also won the World Cup in 2002 with Brazil, having controversially been passed fit to play the final defeat against France four years earlier despite suffering a seizure hours before kick-off.

The three-time FIFA World Player of the Year remained at the Bernabeu for five years after his World Cup success, and retired in 2011 following spells with AC Milan and Corinthians.

With over 400 career goals to his name for club and country, he is one of the best forwards to ever play the game.

Speaking at an event hosted by Santander Bank in 2021, Ronaldo declared his picks for the four greatest players he believes have ever graced a football pitch.

He said (quotes via Goal): "For me, in the classification of the best in history, the four names would be Pele, [Diego] Maradona, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

"They are the top four in the history of football."

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Although he understandably left himself out of his own list, Ronaldo has been named as the greatest player of all time by some of his contemporaries.

Speaking in 2021, Zlatan Ibrahimovic told Discovery Plus: "I always say you have the players that play the game, and the players that are the game.

For me, Ronaldo is the game. When you watch him play, everyone wanted to play like him and become like him.

"The way he was moving, the way he did his stepovers, the way he did 'the snake'. For me, he's the greatest player through history, no doubt."