Alex Ferguson: Ronaldo could score a hat-trick for Millwall, I’m not sure Messi could

It's rare that Ronaldo, Messi and Millwall are spoken in the same breath but Alex Ferguson somehow makes it work.

The former Manchester United manager was asked to comment on the perpetual debate about who the better player is, current Ballon d'Or holder Cristiano Ronaldo or his perennial rival, Lionel Messi. And the Scot was left in no doubt as he plumped for his former winger Ronaldo. Speaking to the BBC, he said: "Ronaldo could play for Millwall, Queen's Park Rangers, Doncaster and score a hat-trick in the game. I'm not sure Messi could do that. "Ronaldo's got two feet, he's quick, great in the air and brave. Of course Messi's brave as well but I think Messi is a Barcelona player." Fergie also revealed the Portuguese is the player who he most appreciated during his tenure at Old Trafford, just based on his meteoric improvement in such a short space of time. "Ronaldo is the biggest improvement really because he came as a young skinny kid of seventeen and he had all those things about him that people used criticise like his diving and all the rest of it. "But once the players got about him on the training ground, he was fantastic. And the most important thing for a great player is the decision-making and that improved over time. "He, Scholes and Giggs - you'd have to say those three [showed the most improvement], obviously Robson, Keane and Cantona, they're all great players." High praise!