They may have been usurped from the top of the La Liga scoring charts, but the Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi debate continues to rage.
And now former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has given his insight on what makes his ex-charge Ronaldo the pick of the pair, as he spoke as a guest at 'An Evening with Rory McIlroy in Dublin.
“It’s interesting to me that we hear so much about two players these days: Ronaldo and Messi ,” the Scot said alongside the former World No.1 golfer.
“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."
This season was the first time since 2009 that neither Messi or Ronaldo claimed the Pichichi Trophy, as Luis Suarez topped the goalscoring charts with 40 goals, five more than the Real Madrid man and 14 ahead of his Barca team-mate Messi.
Ferguson also believes it is the Portuguese's work rate was what separated him from his peers.
“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.”