Cristiano Ronaldo's former teammate Wayne Rooney has claimed that Lionel Messi is the undisputed GOAT ahead of the FIFA World Cup final. After leading Argentina to their third FIFA World Cup in 2022, Messi has dragged them to another World Cup final this time out.

Wayne Rooney shared the pitch with Cristiano Ronaldo on 206 occasions for Manchester United and the two had 26 joint goal participations. However, despite his earlier allegiance with the Portuguese superstar, Rooney believed Lionel Messi has completely eclipsed his eternal rival.

Rooney has claimed that if Messi wins the World Cup again, there should be no debate over his superiority in the GOAT debate. He said, as quoted by BBC Sport:

Rooney added:

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have shared a bitter rivalry for almost two decades. The two have both produced remarkable numbers for club and country and have won 13 Ballon d'Ors between them.

Messi, however, has won more trophies for both club and country and has already won the FIFA World Cup once. Ronaldo has won the Euros once with Portugal, but his best World Cup campaign was in 2006 when Portugal reached the semis.

Former Chelsea star John Obi Mikel has slammed Cristiano Ronaldo fans for claiming Lionel Messi is being favoured at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. He has rubbished the conspiracy theories suggesting Argentina are being helped by FIFA and the referees.

On the Rest is Football podcast, Joe Cole claimed that FIFA would want Lionel Messi in the FIFA World Cup final. Mikel strongly disagreed with his former teammate and insisted that such claims are being propagated by Cristiano Ronaldo fans. He said:

The former Nigerian midfielder added:

Argentina will take on Spain in the 2026 FIFA World Cup final at the New York New Jersey Stadium on Sunday, July 19.

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