Arsene Wenger Gives Perfect Response On Who Is Better Out Of Cristiano Ronaldo And Lionel Messi

Arsene Wenger admitted that it is "difficult to choose" between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi -- but he understands why other managers prefer the Barcelona superstar.

The 70-year-old Arsenal hero took part in a Q&A with fans in 2019 and was asked who would be the best player in the world now if the pair both retired at the same time.

And the interviewer probed Wenger on who he thought was the better player out of Juventus superstar Ronaldo and Barcelona captain Messi.

The legendary French manager refused to specifically pick one of them and identified valuable attributes that Ronaldo and Messi possessed.

But Wenger believes that Messi's "artistic" ability makes him more of a temptation for managers to pick him ahead of his fierce rival.

"I would say that they are so good that it's difficult to choose -- in 10 footballers of the year, it's five and five, so that shows they are really on the same level," he told beIN Sports at the time.

"Artistically, Messi is as well a guy who can give the final ball, so he's maybe more a creative player than Ronaldo.

"Ronaldo is more a finisher, better in the air, more athletic, and Messi is the more artistic.

"So, basically, you are always tempted a little bit more by a player like Messi."

Wenger has revealed that he is backing Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe to overtake Ronaldo and Messi at the top of world football.

"Lionel Messi... we've never seen players like that who can absolutely be creative in any tight situation," the former Arsenal boss said.

"These players are now getting to an end -- Ronaldo and Messi. It's now about the next generation and the next generation may be French.

"At the moment, the leader could be Mbappe. Of course Neymar, we know. But England, I believe, has a good chance. Now they are doing very well at youth level.

"They have done well with Gareth Southgate at the World Cup. I was hoping at the European Championship they would be one of the contenders."

Featured Image Credit: beIN Sports/PA

Topics: Football News, Football, Barcelona, Serie A, Lionel Messi, Juve, Arsene Wenger, old lady, Juventus, Cristiano Ronaldo, La Liga, Barca

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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