Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker have the same answer when asked to choose between Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney as a team-mate.
Cristiano Ronaldo is undoubtedly one of the greatest players of all time.
But Wayne Rooney He would be a much better teammate than the Portuguese legend.
That is the opinion of both. Alan Shearer and Gary Linekerwho agree that they would rather play alongside the English striker than alongside the Al Nassr captain.
Shearer and Lineker appeared on the latest episode of The rest is football alongside former Manchester City defender Micah Richards.
The trio had a special Q&A episode in which they invited viewers to ask questions about their footballing lives and their opinions on certain topics.
And one fan had a simple, but burning, question for the former England stars: who would the players choose as their preferred teammate, Rooney or Ronaldo?
Neither Lineker nor Shearer needed much time to think about their responses.
And by the way, they both had exactly the same justification for their answers.
“I'll stick with Rooney because I'd rather play with him than Ronaldo,” Lineker said.
“Me too, because you might not be able to get a pass from Ronaldo,” laughed Shearer, while Lineker agreed with his reasoning.
But not everyone agreed that the Plymouth manager would be the best man to have at his side on the pitch.
Because Richards, for his part, after much hesitation, opted for Ronaldo.
In response, Lineker admitted he could not argue with the 39-year-old's quality but clarified that as a team-mate he stood by his choice.
“Of course Ronaldo is a superstar,” he explained. “But I'm only saying that in terms of who I'd rather play with.”
As far as statistics go, there is no doubt that Ronaldo has vastly outperformed the Liverpool-born striker, especially considering the Portuguese is still on the pitch, breaking records.
Ronaldo has played for five clubs during his career so far, racking up a total of 1232 appearances (and counting).
He recently took his goal tally to an impressive 896, almost 60 more than Lionel Messi, to whom he is often compared.
Meanwhile, Rooney also starred at five clubs during his career, but his total appearances stand at 763, an impressive number that only pales when compared to Ronaldo's.
His total number of goals is 313, meaning he scored an average of 0.41 goals per game.
Cristiano Ronaldo career statistics
Sporting Lisbon – 31 games, 5 goals
Manchester United – 346 matches, 145 goals
Real Madrid – 438 matches, 450 goals
Juventus – 134 matches, 101 goals
Al Nassr – 71 matches, 65 goals
Portugal – 212 matches, 130 goals
By comparison, Ronaldo has scored a goal every 0.73 games.
But while Ronaldo continues to shine in On the pitch, Rooney is now desperate to repeat his success as a player in his new role as Plymouth Argyle manager.
After losing the first match of the championship 4-0 for Sheffield WednesdayHis team bounced back in the first round of the Carabao Cup to defeat Cheltenham 3-0.
Speaking after the match, he told talkSPORT how vital it had been to bounce back after such a difficult start to the season.
“It's always good to win after Sunday's game,” he said. “I think first of all the players' dedication was very important tonight. And we did well. We played with energy, we were aggressive and I think we did well, especially in the second half.”
Wayne Rooney career statistics
Everton – 129 games, 42 goals
Manchester United – 559 matches, 253 goals
DC United – 52 appearances, 25 goals
Derby County – 35 games, 7 goals
England – 120 appearances, 53 goals
“It was very good. In the second half, we did a great job. We could have scored more goals. I think that's something we have to improve. Although we scored three, we have to be a little more effective. I'm very satisfied with the performance and the victory.”
And explaining how he had put the pain of his first defeat behind him, Rooney explained that one television programme in particular had helped him regain his spirits ahead of this match.
“It wasn't nice, obviously, to go in and do press, of course. It's not nice, but I went home and watched First Dates and switched off.
“I think it's important, and I think it's important for the players as well. It's important because if you read too much into it, and for the players, I don't do that, but if you look at social media and see all the comments from different people, it can affect you.”