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Wayne Rooney has picked Lionel Messi above 'killer' Cristiano Ronaldo because the Barcelona star will 'torture' you first.

Rooney played alongside Ronaldo at Manchester United, helping the Red Devils to a hat-trick of Premier League titles before the Portuguese joined Real Madrid.

Messi and Ronaldo's rivalry in Spain saw the pair share 11 Ballon d’Ors as they dominated world football.

However, Rooney believes the Argentine ace just has the edge over his former teammate.

He told the Sunday Times : "Ronaldo wasn’t as focused on goals when we started playing together but you could see that all he wanted was to be the best player in the world.

(Image: PA)

"He practised and practised and began to produce. Cristiano has become an incredible scorer and he and Messi are arguably the best two players the game has seen.

"But despite my friendship with Cristiano, I’d go for Messi. It’s for the same reason I loved watching Xavi and Scholes: it’s the different things in Messi’s game. I’ve talked about composure and I can’t remember seeing Messi score when he has hit the ball as hard as he could. He just rolls them in, makes it so easy.

"Ronaldo is ruthless in the box, a killer. But Messi will torture you before he kills you. With Messi you just get the impression he is having more fun. Those two have completely changed the game in terms of goalscoring numbers and I don’t think they’ll ever be matched."

(Image: UEFA via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, David Beckham believes one player stands above the other - and fans of his former clubs Manchester United and Real Madrid are unlikely to be happy with his verdict.

“He [Messi] is alone in his class as a player, it is impossible that there is another like him,” Beckham told Argentine outlet Telam.

“He, like Cristiano Ronaldo, who is not at his level, are both above the rest.”