Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are the top two soccer players in the world, but former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes the Real Madrid forward is better than his FC Barcelona counterpart.

Messi and Ronaldo have shared the FIFA Ballon d'Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year over the past seven years. Ronaldo won the last two Ballon d'Or awards, while Messi recently set the goal-scoring records in Spanish La Liga and UEFA Champions League.

But Ferguson is still convinced Ronaldo is better than Messi because the Real Madrid superstar has superior all-around skills to Messi. He said Messi is excelling because he is playing for FC Barcelona, but he does not think the story would be the same if the Argentine was playing for a smaller club.

On the other hand, Ferguson, who coached Ronaldo during their partnership at Manchester United before the Portugal international moved to Real Madrid, thinks his former player will excel even if he is not a Real Madrid player.

"Many people quite rightly say Messi and you can't dispute that opinion, but Ronaldo could play for Millwall, QPR, Doncaster Rovers, anyone, and score a hat trick," Ferguson told BBC Sports. "I'm not sure Messi could do that. Ronaldo's got two feet, he's quick, great in the air and brave. I think Messi is a Barcelona player."

But unlike Ferguson, former soccer star Michael Laudrup, who both played for FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, said that he cannot name a better player between Messi and Ronaldo. Instead of debating on who the better player is, Laudrup said fans should feel great that they are witnesses to one of the greatest player rivalries in history.

"You cannot choose between them," Laudrup said. "One is the best one season, and then other the next. And so on. I think the best thing is that the league is very lucky to be able to enjoy them both. Not only have they played in the same country, which is a great privilege for Spain, but we've had one at Real Madrid and the other at Barcelona."

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