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They’re two footballers who have defined a generation, but most players only ever have the same experience as fans when it comes to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi – watching them on television.

Some are lucky enough to play against two of the best players of all time, while a select few even get to play alongside one of these greats.

But only a handful of footballers of the last 15 years have ever played with both Ronaldo and Messi either at club level or internationally.

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​Gerard Piqué

Played With Ronaldo: 2004-06 & 2007-08 (Manchester United)

Played With Messi: 2008-present (Barcelona)

As Barcelona’s seventh most capped player of all time, it’s easy to forget that Gerard Piqué’s career in senior football actually started at Manchester United.

Piqué moved to Old Trafford one year after Ronaldo and left one year before the Portugal international moved to Spain – he also spent one season on loan at Real Zaragoza – but the defender still made 23 appearances for United.

The centre back even scored twice in the Champions League group stages in 2007, including in a win over Dynamo Kyiv where Ronaldo also found the back of the net.

Piqué is the only player who has played with both Ronaldo and Messi at club level.

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Paulo Dybala

Played With Ronaldo: 2018-present (Juventus)

Played With Messi: 2015-present (Argentina)

Having made his international debut under Gerardo Martino shortly after his move to Juventus from Palermo, Paulo Dybala has gone on to make 28 appearances for La Albiceleste.

It’s been suggested for some time that Dybala could link up with Messi at club level too as he frequently gets linked with a move to Barcelona in the back pages, but the 25-year-old instead became Ronaldo’s teammate in 2018.

Dybala’s been directly involved in 20 goals in 56 appearances since Ronaldo’s move to Turin, compared to 90 goals or assists in 140 games for Juventus before the 2018/19 season.

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André Gomes

Played With Ronaldo: 2014-present (Portugal)

Played With Messi: 2016-18 (Barcelona)

Everton’s André Gomes was tipped for instant success at Barcelona when he made a move to Camp Nou from Valencia in 2016, but the Portugal international could never really find his feet and only spent two years alongside Messi in Catalonia.

Gomes even dropped out of international duty with Ronaldo during his fledgling years at Barcelona, but the midfielder was recalled to the squad last month and will likely return once he recovers from a horrific ankle injury.

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Nélson Semedo

Played With Ronaldo: 2015-present (Portugal)

Played With Messi: 2017-present (Barcelona)

Nélson Semedo isn’t the first player on this list who’s played with Messi at Barcelona and Ronaldo with Portugal, and he won’t be the last mentioned either.

The 25-year-old has been part of the national team for over four years, but he’s only ever made 14 senior appearances with the Selecção das Quinas.

In two years in Catalonia, Semedo has already played 98 times and has even set up five goals for Messi during that time, including four penalties.

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Carlos Tevez

Played With Ronaldo: 2007-09 (Manchester United)

Played With Messi: 2005-15 (Argentina)

Even though Carlos Tevez broke into the national team in 2004 under Marcelo Bielsa, he didn’t actually play alongside Messi until Argentina’s World Cup qualification match against Peru the following season.

It was Tevez’s performances with Argentina that saw West Ham come in for his signature soon after, before Manchester United brought him to Old Trafford where he’d form a devastating partnership with Ronaldo in the north-west.

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Gonzalo Higuaín

Played With Ronaldo: 2009-13 (Real Madrid) & 2019-present (Juventus)

Played With Messi: 2009-2019 (Argentina)

Having arrived at Real Madrid two years before Ronaldo, Gonzalo Higuaín was a regular part of their starting lineup thanks to his impressive record in front of goal, but chances became few and far between when Karim Benzema arrived in 2009.

Even though Ronaldo went on to join Higuaín’s Juventus in 2018, the Argentina international spent last season on loan at Milan and Chelsea, so the 31-year-old has only joined up with his former teammate once again this year.

Higuaín spent a decade alongside Messi with Argentina, but the striker decided to hang up his boots with La Albiceleste last season.

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Gabriel Heinze

Played With Ronaldo: 2004-07 (Manchester United)

Played With Messi: 2005-10 (Argentina)

Gabriel Heinze was actually on the books at Sporting CP – Ronaldo’s boyhood club – at the same time as the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, but the defender ended his loan spell in Portugal some years before the 34-year-old’s debut.

Heinze eventually did have the chance to play alongside Ronaldo at Manchester United, while a year later he also stepped onto the pitch with Messi whilst on international duty.

The defender not only started Messi’s international debut against Hungary, but Heinze also scored the winning goal of the match after Sándor Torghelle had cancelled out Maxi Rodríguez’s opener.

Messi came off the bench just after Heinze’s winner, replacing Lisandro López, but it was a debut to forget as the Barcelona legend was sent off after just 43 seconds as a senior international footballer.

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Fernando Gago

Played With Ronaldo: 2009-11 (Real Madrid)

Played With Messi: 2007-17 (Argentina)

For those who warm to specific quiz shows on the BBC, Fernando Gago would probably be the best chance of a pointless answer if this question were ever to be asked by Alexander Armstrong. Cue funny Richard Osman quip.

Even though the 33-year-old goes under the radar, Gago was actually one of the most highly rated defensive midfielders in his prime, going on to make more international appearances than legends like Wálter Samuel, Pablo Aimar and Juan Román Riquelme.

Gago spent four years on the books at Real Madrid too, before moving back to Argentina where he still plays at Club Atlético Vélez Sarsfield.

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Ezequiel Garay

Played With Ronaldo: 2009-11 (Real Madrid)

Played With Messi: 2007-15 (Argentina)

Ezequiel Garay is a player who has never quite reached the heights that many were expecting when he first broke through at Real Madrid in 2008, going on to have spells in Portugal and Russia before returning to La Liga with Valencia.

Garay didn’t spend long playing with Ronaldo, but the two actually combined for one of Real Madrid’s goals during their 6-0 win over Real Zaragoza in December 2009.

He never combined like that with Messi for Argentina, although he was an ever-present for La Albiceleste at the 2014 World Cup and 2015 Copa América.

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Deco

Played With Ronaldo: 2003-10 (Portugal)

Played With Messi: 2004-08 (Barcelona)

Deco didn’t just play alongside Messi during his career, but the Portugal legend actually came off the pitch when the Barça star made his debut for the club.

He was also on the pitch when Ronaldo made his Portugal debut against Kazakhstan.

Deco and Ronaldo first combined for a goal at Euro 2004, going on to be directly involved in six strikes between them.

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Ángel Di María

Played With Ronaldo: 2010-14 (Real Madrid)

Played With Messi: 2009-present (Argentina)

Arriving at Real Madrid a year after Ronaldo, Ángel Di María went on to make 190 appearances for the club where he formed part of a formidable front three, including Karim Benzema.

The 31-year-old won six trophies alongside Ronaldo before moving to Manchester United in 2014, where he spent just one season.

Although Di María is more memorably associated with Ronaldo, he actually lined up alongside Messi for Argentina two years before his move to the Spanish capital.

Di María hasn’t played for La Albiceleste since the Copa América.

​Arsenal club captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has described criticism of his relationship with YouTube fan channel AFTV and one of its leading contributors as ‘bullsh*t’.

The striker replaced Granit Xhaka as Arsenal captain following the Switzerland international’s conduct in his side’s 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace in October.

While Xhaka’s position as skipper seemingly became untenable after telling his own fans to ‘f**k off’, attention has now switched to Aubameyang and his interactions with controversial channel AFTV.

The Athletic’s David Ornstein ​reported on Monday that some of the Gabonese forward’s teammates are uneasy with the player’s supposed friendship with AFTV contributor ‘Troopz’, due to the perception of the channel as a significant source of negativity towards the club.

AFTV was forced to change its name from ArsenalFanTV in 2018 following discussions with the club regarding a breach of copyright.

Aubameyang has also been caught ‘liking’ social media posts by AFTV and ‘Troopz’ which criticise manager Unai Emery and the team.

However, the striker has reacted strongly to talk of his relationship with ‘Troopz’ rubbing people up the wrong way inside the club, posting a story on his official Instagram account as he arrived in Gabon for international duty.

He wrote: “I just arrived in Gabon and heard a lot of bullsh*t. I talk with who I want, whenever I want, and if somebody’s not happy with… you already know.”

‘Troopz’ too also addressed the story on his own YouTube channel, stating that he is understanding of the situation and accepts why certain Gunners players may disprove of his friendship with Aubameyang. However, the YouTuber denied Ornstein’s suggestion that the former ​Borussia Dortmund hitman invited him to attend matches in his own private box at the Emirates.

No official comment has been made by ​Arsenal or their manager regarding the allegations from Ornstein, or the player’s response.

Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp has said his side are paying no attention to the ‘crazy’ eight-point chasm they have opened up at the top of the Premier League following Sunday’s win over Manchester City, saying that he only cares about their league position come May.

The Reds sealed a ​crucial win in the first clash of the title favourites this season, with goals from Fabinho, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané securing the three points despite Bernardo Silva’s late consolation.

With their newly-extended lead – it’s incidentally eight points from Leicester and Chelsea, nine to the reigning champions in fourth – comes questions about whether he is ‘feeling the pressure’ to hold on, but Klopp said after the Anfield victory that it is far too early for that.

He did however admit that their lead over the defending champions is far beyond anything he would have imagined at this stage in the season.

“We don’t feel any pressure, to be 100% honest,” he said, as quoted by the Liverpool Echo. “The things that will now come up, we know about. If you are with us, then nine points is a positive. There’s a long way to go.

“Other people will 100% say, and have said already, that from now on ​Liverpool can only lose it. That’s a very negative approach, but you can see it like this. But we don’t care. I can promise you that we don’t care.

“Today we were completely focused on this game and not the situation in the table and how many points we are ahead of ​City in the table.

“[It’s] crazy. Nine points ahead of City, you cannot imagine that something like this would happen. But it’s not important because who wants to be first in November? You want to be first in May.

“It’s only November. We all know that but don’t have to say it as it’s clear. We will try and see what happens in the end.

“The pressure or whatever is not there yet. It will come, but at the moment it’s just opportunity and go for it and do the work, throw all in what you have and let’s see what happens.”

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has said that his players showed why they are champions in their 3-1 defeat at Anfield, asserting that his side’s performance is one of the ‘proudest’ of his career.

City fell to what was ​ultimately a convincing defeat, with Bernardo Silva’s late goal taking the shine off the scoreline for the Reds, whose early double from Fabinho and Mohamed Salah was complemented by a Sadio Mané header to put the game beyond reach.

The visitors felt hard done by, however, and could have been awarded a penalty just prior to ​Liverpool’s opening goal, with Guardiola left incensed by the referee’s decision not to award one for handball by Trent Alexander-Arnold. 

The ​City boss would not be dragged into discussion on the incident in his post-match press conference, however, instead keeping the focus on what he felt was an admirable performance from his players at a notoriously difficult venue.

“Today we showed in the most difficult stadium in the world the reasons we are champions, one of the proudest performances of my career,” he said, via the ​Manchester Evening News.

“We tried, we can’t expect not to concede chances at Anfield. We created more than ever. I’m so proud, I like to be manager of these players.

“We had chances to score [early on], they arrive twice and have two goals, it’s not easy, but how we react is the process we have to learn.”

He also noted that the quality of the game was a terrific advert for the ​Premier League, and having regained his sense of humour, joked that himself and Reds manager Jürgen Klopp were owed a bottle of wine for the show their sides put on.

“Unfortunately we lost, congratulations to Jürgen and his fantastic team for the victory,” he added. “It was a good game for both sides, for the Premier League, for the billions of people who watched this game. It was good advertising.

“Maybe you have to buy Jürgen and myself a bottle of wine for that.”

​Watford finally registered their first win of the Premier League season on Friday evening as they battled to a 2-0 victory over Norwich City at Carrow Road.

Watford needed just one minute to open the scoring through Gerard Deulofeu, who waltzed through the Norwich defence to fire home from close range. Immediately after the goal, Norwich quickly gained control of possession and looked the most likely to net next. Emiliano Buendía missed perhaps the best chance of the half, and Watford held on to their lead at the break.

Against the run of play, it was Watford who netted the second. Deulofeu’s cross was met with a back-heel from Andre Gray, whose effort deflected past the helpless Tim Krul. However, Norwich were given a lifeline after 65 minutes as Watford defender Christian Kabasele was dismissed for his second yellow card.

Unfortunately for the hosts, they just could not make that advantage count. They were poor in the final third, and they could not stop Watford from lifting themselves off the bottom. The Canaries now sit there themselves.

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NORWICH CITY

Key Talking Point

It was a familiar story for ​Norwich. They were the better side going forward but, yet again, they simply could not get the goals which their play deserved. A sloppy mistake at the back from Buendía proved to be their downfall, and it was the kind of error which teams in Norwich’s position cannot afford to make.

Their final ball was almost non-existent. Wingers and full-backs had countless opportunities to cause problems with their crossing or set-pieces, but they just couldn’t pick out the right pass. Time and time again, they lacked the quality to go along with their desire.

The score certainly did not reflect the performance, but that means nothing for Norwich, who have come out on the losing end for the ninth time in the ​Premier League this season. They are well and truly in a relegation battle, and simply looking exciting isn’t going to cut it anymore.

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Player Ratings

Starting XI: Krul (6); Aarons (6), Tettey (5), Godfrey (6), Lewis (6); Trybull (5), McLean (5); Buendía (5), Stiepermann (7), Hernández (8*); Pukki (7).

Substitutes: Cantwell (5), Drmić (5), Vrancic (N/A).

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STAR MAN – Onel Hernández

How Onel Hernández didn’t come out of this game with about 40 assists is beyond me. The Cuban winger was electric during the first half, constantly finding space in behind Watford’s defence.

His movement was astounding and he was impressive on the ball, but his play was missing that final cutting edge to get the Canaries back in the game. Had he been more reliable with his crossing, he could have put Watford to the sword here.

His impact faded in the second half after ​Watford bagged their second, but he still looked on his toes. Comfortable on the ball, he was Norwich’s best option going forward, but it still wasn’t enough for Daniel Farke’s side.

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WATFORD

Key Talking Point

A win! Finally!

Coming into this game, Watford were the only side in the English Football League without a win, but they have finally brought an end to their long, long wait for a victory. They were clinical in attack and made the most of whatever came their way, which is all fans can ask for.

It wasn’t the most convincing performance from Quique Sánchez Flores’ side, but that’s completely irrelevant. They are finally on the board, and it’s now a case of using this momentum to bring this miserable run of form to a definitive end.

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Player Ratings

Starting XI: Foster (7); Janmaat (4), Kabasele (2), Dawson (6), Cathcart (5), Holebas (6); Hughes (7), Capoue (7), Doucouré (7); Deulofeu (8*), Pereyra (6).

Substitutes: Gray (7), Mariappa (6), Masina (N/A).

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STAR MAN – Gerard Deulofeu

 

From the first minute, it was clear to see that Deulofeu was intent on wreaking havoc. The Spaniard netted after just one minute, with his dribbling and lightning pace proving too much for Watford.

The Hornets struggled to get on the ball for the remainder of the game, but Deulofeu still managed to look lively. He chased every lost ball and had a couple of good runs at the Norwich defence, and he perhaps could have grabbed a second goal.

It was his delicious cross which set up Gray’s second, and it was no less than Deulofeu deserved. He was electric all night, and he can now celebrate this long-awaited victory.

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Looking Ahead

After the international break, Norwich will look to bounce back when they travel to Everton on 23 November.

Watford will hope to use this momentum to their advantage when they return to action. They will welcome Burnley to Vicarage Road on 23 November.

​Wolves sealed a late victory to close in on the Europa League knockout stages on Thursday night, as they beat Slovan Bratislava 1-0 at Molineux.

Slovan Bratislava started the game well, Kenan Bajric and Myenty Abena both coming close before Wolves almost took the lead with their first chance of the night; Slovan goalkeeper Dominik Greif pulling off a fantastic reaction save to get across to Joao Moutinho’s deflected shot.

Three minutes into the second half, Wolves won a penalty when Pedro Neto had his heels clipped by captain Vasil Bozhikov. Ruben Neves had the chance to put the hosts in front, but he was denied as Greif made an excellent save over to his right to keep it goalless at Molineux.

The penalty miss seemed to wake up Wolves, as they upped their intensity in pursuit of a breakthrough. Raul Jimenez guided Moutinho’s pass towards goal, but Greif was equal once again to claw his effort away from goal, as the Slovak goalkeeper made another fantastic save.

The game looked to be heading for a stalemate, but Wolves snatched it right at the death in the 92nd minute. Traore whipped in a delightful ball into the box, and Jimenez was there to head home to break Slovan’s hearts and snatch a huge win under the lights at Molineux.

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WOLVES

Key Talking Point

Wolves have a costly habit of starting slow, and that seemed to be the case once again at Molinuex. In what was an end-to-end game throughout the first half, they didn’t manage to take their chances – or make any clear cut ones, for that matter – as they went into the break frustrated and goalless.

There was increased urgency in the second half and the penalty miss was unlucky, but the Midlanders kept their heads up and kept searching for the goal, although they continued to squander their chances.

Some hard work and battling play saw Wolves steal the three points in stoppage time. It was a hard-fought win on a frustrating and sometimes lacklustre night for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side, but it sees them take a massive three points and a step closer to reaching the Europa League knockout stages.

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Player Ratings

Starting XI: Patricio (6); Dendoncker (7), Coady (6), Kilman (6); Doherty (6), Moutinho (7), Neves (6), Vinagre (6); Traore (7*), Jimenez (7), Neto (6).

Substitutes: Cutrone (6), Jonny (N/A), Bennett (N/A).

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STAR MAN – If there was any creativity to credit from Wolves, it came through Adama Traore. The winger was causing problems all night long down the right hand side, twisting and turning as he created numerous chances for his side going forward.

While he was creating the most chances, his display wasn’t perfect at times. His crossing was woeful all game long, failing to deliver one good cross…until the very, very end.

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SLOVAN BRATISLAVA

Player Ratings 

Starting XI: Greif (8*); Medvedev (6), Abena (6), Bozhikov (6), De Marco (5); Bajric (6), De Kamps (6); Ratao (6), Ibrahim (7), Drazic (6); Sporar (7).

Substitutes: Sukhtoskiy (6), Ljubicic (N/A), Daniel (N/A).

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STAR MAN – Slovan Bratislava had only one standout performer, as goalkeeper Dominik Greif had an excellent game at Molinuex. The 22-year-old keeper made excellent saves time after time, and stayed equal to everything that Wolves threw at him.

Greif kept out wildly deflected shots, close-range efforts and even a penalty from a man who has only ever missed one career spot kick. It was a stunning display from Slovan’s number one, who proved himself on the European stage with a well-earned clean sheet at Molineux.

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Looking Ahead

Wolves are at Molineux for ​Premier League action next, as they host ​Aston Villa in the west Midlands derby on Sunday. They then wait two weeks before they return from the international break, travelling down south to face ​Bournemouth on 23rd November.

Slovan Bratislava will look to extend their lead at the top of the Slovak Super Liga, when they travel to Zlate Moravce on Sunday. The Slovakian champions then face a fourth round tie in the Slovak Cup, as they take a trip to Partizan Bardejov on 16th November.