Cristiano Ronaldo has now confirmed he has retired from the Portugal national team, just under a month after Lionel Messi played his final game for Argentina.

Both players have been linked throughout their careers due to people still not being able to agree on who is the greatest of all time.

That debate, even after Messi won the World Cup in 2022, is unlikely to ever be settled on a wider scale. But Ronaldo has already put forward his case for why he thinks that he is the best.

During an interview, which was shared by the BBC in February 2025, Ronaldo made the case that he is ‘the most complete player to have existed’.

He then suggested that while people’s taste may sway them towards liking Messi, Pele and Diego Maradona, he has not ‘seen anybody better than me’.

He stated: “I think I’m the most complete player to have existed. In my opinion, I think it’s me. I do everything well in football.

“One thing is taste – if you like Messi, Pele, Maradona, I understand that and I respect that – but saying Ronaldo isn’t complete… I’m the most complete. I haven’t seen anybody better than me, and I say it from the heart.”

Ronaldo ended his international career with more goals than Messi – 146 in 234 games compared to 126 in 208 games.

Elsewhere, the Argentine won one World Cup and two Copa Americas while Cristiano clinched one UEFA European Championship in 2016 and has two UEFA Nations League titles.