Johannesburg — Piers Morgan believes Cristiano Ronaldo is still the greatest footballer of all time, while the World Cup final-bound Lionel Messi is fourth in his mind.
Before the start of the World Cup, Morgan had a sensational sit-down with Ronaldo on his show, Piers Morgan Uncensored, in an episode that went viral.
Ronaldo revealed he felt betrayed by his then-bosses at Manchester United and he doesn’t respect club manager Erik ten Hag, who doesn't respect him.
After the interview, United and Ronaldo decided to part ways amicably as the 37-year-old’s second stint with the club ended on a sour note.
Ronaldo, though, was expected to put his club issues behind him heading into the World Cup in Qatar, which is expected to be his last.
But after starting all three group stage games and scoring once in the opener, Ronaldo was benched in the last-16 – which caught many by surprise.
Coach Fernardo Santos, again, decided to overlook Ronaldo for their quarter-final tie against Morocco as they got a rude awakening, losing 1-0 to the north African side as Ronaldo’s chances of ever winning the World Cup disappeared.
But while Ronaldo's fanbase weeping, Messi’s were still alive in the tournament as they bet on him to win the World Cup for the first time.
Messi and Argentina haven’t disappointed and they are in the final of the World Cup where they’ll face either France or Morocco on Sunday night.
Enroute to the final, Messi was at his best as they beat Croatia 3-0 on Tuesday to revive the debate on who's the greatest football of all time.
Morgan had a clash with fellow sports broadcaster Jeff Stelling who tweeted: “So where are we now @piersmorgan in the Ronaldo v Messi debate?"
The Ronaldo fan replied: “I think Cristiano Ronaldo’s the best ever, Maradona 2nd, Messi 3rd (possibly 4th actually, behind R9 (Brazilian Ronaldo)).”
After Messi’s Man of the Match performance against Croatia, where he scored the opening goal and assisted the third, Morgan lauded the Argentine's exploits though.
“Congratulations to Argentina & Lionel Messi on reaching the World Cup final. Never doubted them,” the SunSport columnist tweeted after the game slyly after predicting a Croatia win before the game.
IOL Sport