Arsenal's Arteta weighs in on Messi and Ronaldo GOAT debate as he picks bizarre 5-a-side team

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta effectively picked a side in the GOAT debate between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo during a task to create an ideal five-aside team.

Messi and Ronaldo are undoubtedly the two best players of their generation and, to many, the entire history of the game. However, somebody has to take the number one spot, or at least their fans and this escalated into the biggest rivalry the sport has ever seen.

Hence, the “Who is the GOAT, ‘Messi or Ronaldo’” question has been like a pinned Whatsapp chat, always there and never going away during almost every interview, vox pop and content involving personalities in the sport.

This was not the case for Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, however; he was not asked the question in this instance; instead, he was tasked with naming his ideal five-a-side team.

The Basque manager took the opportunity to sing the praises of Inter Miami star Lionel Messi, tagging him as the most influential player in the history of the game and calling him the number one. 

He then went on to make his team of five, which bizarrely included five attacking players, leaving no room for defenders or a goalkeeper.

“The No.1 and I didn’t play with him or manage, it would have to be Leo Messi,” he told Planet Football.

“That’s for sure because he’s been in my opinion the most influential player ever in the history of football. We’ve never seen someone do what he has done on the pitch for that many years.

“Then with [Cristiano] Ronaldo, I would do the same thing and I would put the other [Brazilian] Ronaldo because since I was a kid I was in love with him.

“Then I would put Johan Cruyff there for sure because of his intelligence and what he did for the game and they are all attacking players.

“But the other one I have to do is Maradona because of my family and the Argentinian origin I have as well because of my wife. The way he transformed football and Barcelona during that period, he has to be there.

“No defenders! We don’t have goalkeepers; it’s five-a-side. No goalies. If it’s six-a-side then I have to go for a friend, Pepe Reina. I’ve played with him since I was 16 years old in Barcelona and now, last week, he became the Spanish player with the most European caps in our history. He’s 41 and still playing. An amazing career.”

Meanwhile, Lionel Messi is putting up six of his World Cup jerseys for sale, and it is speculated he could surpass Michael Jordan as the athlete to own the highest-selling game-worn sports memorabilia.