Marcus Rashford grew up watching Cristiano Ronaldo tear it up for his beloved Manchester United and has had special gifts sent to him by the five-time Ballon d'Or winner.
Yet when it comes down to footballing ability, the England forward admitted he prefers Lionel Messi when asked the common football question.
Rashford has had a personalised signed shirt sent to him from CR7, along with a tidy pair of red Nike Air Max 97 CR7 and clearly has a fruitful relationship with the Los Blancos star.
But though he's a huge fan, it's the other footballing phenomenon who gets his vote when it comes to the best player in the world.
Advert
"I'd have to say Messi, some of the stuff that he does is unbelievable," said Rashford told CNN.
"I'm a big fan of Ronaldo as well - but I think Messi is the greatest ever."
The comments are especially interesting, not only because of the freebies Ronaldo has sent to the youngster, but because the Sporting CP product actually included him in his list of players who can be the world's best when he and Messi eventually call it a day.
Advert
Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Eden Hazard, Ousmane Dembele and Marcos Asensio also got a mention.
Moreover, United fans will remember that one of Rashford's goals against Liverpool was basically a carbon copy of Ronaldo's trademark chop inside the left-back and curl far corner against Dynamo Kiev many moons ago.
Topics: Football News, Football, Lionel Messi, Marcus Rashford, Cristiano Ronaldo
