Raul puts Lionel Messi above Cristiano Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane | OneFootball

Real Madrid great Raul has put rivalry aside to place Lionel Messi above Cristiano Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane in the GOAT debate. Many at the Bernabeu have long sided with Ronaldo, but Raul prefers the Argentine.

"I've been fortunate to play with players like Zidane, Cristiano, Ronaldo, [Luis] Figo... but I think Messi is the best, he's very different. He makes everything look easy, things you see as impossible, he makes them look easy, as if he were playing with his friends in the street", he told EDYYN.

Messi was a persistent thorn in Real’s side, his duels with Ronaldo defining two decades in which they shared 13 Ballons d’Or. At the start of 2026, Messi is under contract with MLS Cup winners Inter Miami through 2028, while Ronaldo is on a two-year deal at Al Nassr that takes him beyond his 42nd birthday. Raul would welcome the pair uniting, yet he doubts it will happen.

The former Spain striker scored 323 goals in 714 appearances for Real Madrid, featuring alongside several icons in the capital.

"We all know he's going to be an important player, but Lamine isn't going to be the linchpin of the Spanish national team. We have to give him his space", he told AS.

Lamine Yamal made his senior debut at 15 and, now 18, already has La Liga and European Championship titles and finished second in the 2025 Ballon d’Or vote. He is expected to shine for Spain at the 2026 World Cup.

Source: Goal.com