Forget what i think about these two look at what a great legend like maradona thinks of these two.

Maradona told Reuters: "Rooney is a very powerful striker, he's very talented and he can take England to World Cup victory."

Argentina legend Diego Maradona has hailed Barcelona starlet Lionel Messi as one of the best players in the world.

So who do you think is better rooney or messi

I haven't seen much of Messi so i'm going to vote Rooney

messi all the way

Messi is extremely talented however i believe he lacks composure as he is so young whereas rooney has all the composure in the world which is strange for his age, at this moment in time rooney is a more complete player and is a more effective player!

Both players are not afraid of the big stage

I watched Rooney in the sfternoon against Charlton and he was fantastic then i saw Messi against Madrid in the evening and he was exceptional

Both players are big talents and its unfair to compare the two just yet

dude you cant put messi next to rooney....
he is playing at top level from his 16, where was messi than????
he has been engeland's MVP since his first game.
he has a starting 11 at United.
and he has played in a EC where he scored 4 goals.

messi in nowhere near him. he is even 100KM behind him just bcaude he played a good WK under 18 doesent mean he is a star.

Both very good players but Rooney is a bit better.

both are great talents, yet only one of these two has proven himself on a larger scale... ill let you guess wich one...

Messi has got talent. I expect him to be among the best if not the best in a few years.

messi's only made 15 appearances with over half of them as a substitute so start comparing in a year's time!

bt dnt b silly m8 rooney is well better n i dnt support utd!!!!
messi is gd tho

Please go watch the Madrid Barca game and then come back to me, Am Rooneys biggest fan but this Kid Messi isnt far behind at his age. He destroyed Roberto Carlos and Messi already has a Champions League goal to his name as well

Both are great talents and althought they are fowards, they are too different to make a good comparison. If I have to choose, I pick Messi because he has better technique. But Rooney seems to be unstoppable when he takes the ball.

Better technique than rooney? no! rooney has a far better technique than messi, but messi is quicker over 5 yards, at this time ronney is better!

LMAO Messi is miles ahead of Rooney in terms of Technique

I think Messi is a better player. He has better technique. Ronney has a better shot then him and is more aggressive. In 5 years both are proably gonna hit their prime and there both gonna be amazing.

Both players are extremly talented but rooney is a betta player overall he strong and vicious and i think rooneys betta ....................

Messi is miles ahead of every other player at that age (Aguero is not that far though), i think Rooney is very over-rated because he is English.
But i do admit that Rooney has a batter shot, and thats it.

er..no atleast not way ahead.More like a wee bit behind
Both are afntastic tho

So are you saying Rooney is over rated because he is of English nationality or because the English over hype their players?

Both

All i'm saying is that he wouldnt get this much attention if he was argentinian or brazilian.

Wayne is better, why?

He has been bossing the best league in the world in the past 6 months, put Rooney in La Liga, where he'll be getting more time on the ball and watch him destroy.

No wonder Barca and Real want him.

didnt robinho got atleast the same attention as rooney?wasnt he overhyped then?

Rooney is ahead of Messi because of the expierence he has got. Messi is more talented if you ask me.

Barca and Real want him? Uhhh...No.

Rooney is better only because he has more experience. Messi is more talented. He is faster, bettter with a ball, and gets past players easier. Messi has been awesome for Baca this year. He has not had a single bad performance yet, and there hasn't been a defence yet that could stop him.

In two years, when Messi will be Rooney's age, Messi will be top scorer and battling with Eto'o for best striker in the world. Guarantee it.

I think that Messi is the more talened of the two, however Sergio 'Kun' Aguero will be better then both of them.

Tough Question and I think you should have posted this under Phenoms but okay let me try to answer this one.. Hmm.. Rooney is better. Wow that was hard.... Messi is also a great player but he lacks experience, which Rooney has. Messi does not have international experience and Rooney does. Enough said. Messi wil be better than Rooney though, just in the moment..Rooney is better.

You could not have put it any better and if you all have a good look at this forum nearly all the people who say rooney is better than messi are all most all Man U fans.

I'll try to be as unbiased as possible.

When Rooney came onto the scene I was interested, especially following Euro 2004 and his big-money move to Man Utd. He's really taken the team by the scruff of the neck and has become a vital player, as can be seen when the team doesn't have him around.

For now, Messi, who is 18 now mind you, seems to be very special. The way he moves, the way he touches the ball, the way he attacks, when he comes back to defend, his shots, his determination etc. The drive in an 18 year old, who spent months waiting to see if he could even play, and despite the controversies has not delivered a bad performance to date. I just see Messi as being the bigger player in a few years.

Note: Rooney has the physical advantage, but Messi mentally doesn't doubt himself in challenges, I saw the kid going up against Vieira when we played Juventus in the Joan Gamper trophy, and he was 17 then. Says alot.

i dont know, good topic, i like both players, so im gonna not Argue

Yes Robinho is shit

Welcome to SP

Nice to read your views but i think you're way off the mark
Barca wanting Rooney?? It wouldn't be bad to have him
But we've got a better player in Messi
Rooney cant do half the things Messi can do
At 17 Rooney had a chance but no hard-proof that he was the best at his age
At 17, Messi was MVP (deseverdly so) in a world youth tournament
That means he shone brighter than everyone his age
Right now, even the English people would much rather watch Messi play
Argue all you want but the fact above remains
As for the best league in the world; that's very immature

Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeell No, Would I prefer, Messi over Rooney.

Messi is good dont mistake it, however he lacks Oooooooooooooozzzy.

Whats Ooooooooooooooozzzy you may ask, It's when you ooze so much class that you don't run around like a headless chicken, you let others do the running for you hence or otherwise, ooooozzzing class.

Ronney, Dinho and all the great players have Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooozzzy and Messi may well acquire it but for now.

Rooney is the Don.

LOL nice post! Messi over Rooney though? Um... in the moment, NO! Later on, Messi will improve faster than Rooney and eventually will become abetter player but for now, Rooney is better.

Rooney plays in an easier league
A good illustration of how much better Messi is:
Rooney severely struggled against Villareal
Messi cruised and slalomed through Villareal
It was very hard to tell that Messi is younger than Rooney
Messi has got this maturity that Rooney doesn't even dare dream of
There is no team Messi cant mess
I done seen way too many teams (outside england) that Rooney would rather fight (clap) the ref
In other words the likes of Ronaldinho, Etoo, Xavi possess ooooooooozzzy
That makes them great

The discussion is moving from the sublime to the ridiculous guys.. It is better if we stop talking about ooziness. As far as I know, that doesnt do shit in football.

Rooney plays in n easier league , dont get me wrong la liga is great but come on EPL is a far tougher more physical league!

EPL is more physical and harder for technical players
Laliga is more technical and harder for physical players

I guess both leagues are pretty hard depending on how you play.

Thats a fair assessment, im happy with that!

as of now rooney is the better player. but only time will tell who will be the better of the 2 at their peaks.

i'd have to say rooney because hes grown faster and he has more experience but i dont see that lasting because messi is climbing the charts pretty fast and will eventually be better than rooney

well when u hav ronaldinho on your side it's easy 2 cruise through opponents. also u bring up villareal..... then y not bring up dat one chelsea game???(dat CL game which i lost sum $, lol but besides my point) also i feel each player fits perfectly into da league dat they r in. like EPL is physical n well rooney.... lol, now messi fits perfectly 2 da la liga offense where u need 2 kno how 2 move. lol

wouldn't mind honourin' your post with a reply
only if i could understand a word you're sayin'
can you even?

I think after yesterday's performance, and all the money that was spent on him (£30 million) to produce world class performances in a time needed like this, id have to choose Messi. He was really dissapointing.

The last time he scored in the Champions League was against Fenerbahce and that is shocking by his standards!!!

So your basing your decision on one performance? thats hardly the best criteria!

can't choose just yet, cuz i haven't seen enough of Messi....but i can say it's close cuz both of 'em r very visible in all the big games...it's no doubt though that they are definitely the future huge stars of football...and it's good to c that it's competition between an Englishmen and an Argentinian



Rooney does not play in an easier league, and if Messi came to the EPL....well he knows he can never come ot the EPL until he acquires more strength because he'll be legally bumped off the ball too easily...Messi vs Villareal in La Liga was a totally different game where Villareal actually MOVED FORWARD....against Man Utd, Villareal parked their team bus, they had everyone back there...and i'd hate to downplay the other players on Man Utd, but other than Cristiano Ronaldo, there really isn't anyone else to worry too much about making a goal happen, so i'm 110% sure the Villareal coach told his team to watch Rooney and Ronaldo the most before anyone else....Messi may be getting more attention now, but at the time vs Villareal, he was an unknown, and when there's Ronaldinho, Eto'o, Deco, and other more dangerous players, Messi will have less of a competition to perform against. Not down-playing Messi at all, just equaling the field between Messi and Rooney

none, Martins is better of course

You obviously know very lil' about soccer
Messi was never an unknown
Big teams (ma utd included) wanted him before he even kicked a soccer ball for Barca

did you not bother to watch Euro 2004 then?

why do you gotta get all technical for? Fenerbache knew Rooney had a great Euro 2004 tournament, yet they slacked to cover him better....same goes for any new player in his first several games, if the team doesn't give him enough respect...i obviously don't ever think Messi was an unknown, if you read the paragraph before, i mentioned he WILL be one of the greats in the future...so next time learn how to add 1+1