Sir Alex Ferguson has repeated his belief that Cristiano Ronaldo has an edge on Lionel Messi because the Real Madrid forward could star for any club in the world.

Ronaldo, 31, and Messi, 28, are considered the finest players in the modern era, with no other player having won the Ballon d'Or award since Kaka's success in 2007.

Sir Alex Ferguson took Ronaldo to Manchester United from Sporting Lisbon in 2003 and the Portuguese became one of the most feared players in the game at Old Trafford before making a world-record £80 million move to Madrid in 2009.

Messi, meanwhile, has spent his entire professional career with Barcelona and, speaking at an event in Dublin on Tuesday, Ferguson said: "It's interesting to me that we hear so much about two players these days: Ronaldo and Messi.

"Now don't get me wrong, Messi is a fantastic player, it's like he's wearing slippers when he controls the ball, but here, for me, is the difference: Messi is a Barcelona player but Ronaldo could play for Stockport County and score a hat trick.

"He has everything. He can shoot with both feet, head the ball, he's as brave as a lion, and here's something else people overlook. During my time at Manchester United I was lucky enough to have a lot of people who put in countless extra hours to get better.

"Gary Neville turned himself from an average footballer into a wonderful one because of his work ethic, as did David Beckham, but Ronaldo used to completely exhaust himself, and still does. He just wanted to be the best in the world."

Ferguson said Eric Cantona, who played for United from 1992 and 1997, had set the tone at Old Trafford with his dedication to training.

"I remember Eric's first day and after the training session had finished he asked for a goalkeeper, two players from the junior team who were still there, and a few footballs," he said. "I said to him what did he need those for and he said he wanted to practise.

"When word got back to the other players, one or two more turned up the next day for an extra session and so the number grew. That was all because of Cantona's work ethic and influence."

Source:
courtesy of ESPNFC

by ESPN staff

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