Cristiano Ronaldo was ‘the best human’ & Lionel Messi ‘does not belong’ - Barcelona icon Gerard Pique weighs in on GOAT debate

For many years, the debate on the greatest player of all time has raged on among fans, pundits, players, and more. Not many have played with both Ronaldo and Messi, but ex-Spain defender Pique has that nearly unique perspective as he played for a brief time alongside the former at Manchester United and spent many years as the latteri's team-mate at Barcelona. The 37-year-old has said the Portuguese forward is the "best human" but gave the nod to Messi in the GOAT debate as he added that the Argentine "does not belong to this planet".

He told Corriere dello Sport: "It was always different. Cristiano was the best of humans, Leo does not belong to this planet. I saw him train every day doing amazing things, there will be no other with his speed of thought. He arrived at the age of thirteen and played in the same way both in the academy and with the first team."

This debate shows no sign of abating, with fans of either player both positing that their favourite is the GOAT. But when all is said and done and their careers are over - something that may not be too far away as Ronaldo is 39 and Messi is 37 - they will be greatly missed for their goalscoring efforts, their skill on the pitch, the trophies they won, the people they inspired, and more.

Aside from the GOAT debate, both Ronaldo and Messi could feature for their respective countries this coming week when Portugal take on Croatia in their final group stage Nations League match and Argentina lock horns with Peru in their latest 2026 World Cup qualifier.