Thierry Henry Explains Why He Rates Lionel Messi Above Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi is a debate that feels as old as time, but when a player who also touched those sorts of heights during his career weighs in, it's worth listening.

Thierry Henry has explained in an interview with FIFA that he favours Messi out of the two, in part because he's seen the Argentine up close by playing with him for a spell at Barcelona:

Well, I played with Leo, so you can guess my answer (laughs). I have enormous respect for Cristiano who has managed to remain at the highest level for many yearsand by that I mean at an extraordinarily high level.

It’s one thing to have to have a single great season, but to maintain it for so many years is something else.

I don’t think we fully realise just what these guys are achieving. So, while huge respect goes to Ronaldo, having played with Messi and shared extraordinary moments with him, both in victory and defeat, it has to be Leo.

Henry recently retired and became a pundit on Sky Sports' football coverage, as well as a trainer for the Arsenal youth team.

He was Messi's team-mate between 2007 and 2010 at Barcelona.

While he never played alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, he was at Arsenal when the Portugal forward was at Manchester United, and Henry was still at Barcelona when Ronaldo joined Real Madrid in 2009 in a record-breaking deal.