Claudio Ranieri's cheeky response to Ronaldo-Messi debate

The Watford boss was asked to choose his GOAT ahead of a Premier League clash with Cristiano Ronaldo and Manchester United.

Instead of naming his GOAT between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, Claudio Ranieri invited the pair to join him at Watford.

The Hornets boss will meet Ronaldo for the first time since his Manchester United return on Saturday at Vicarage Road, in a clash that both men are desperate to win for different reasons.

But while Ronaldo is the enemy for this weekend, Ranieri still couldn’t resist sending a cheeky transfer invitation to the Portuguese star during a pre-match conference on Thursday.

When the Italian was asked who he prefers between CR7 and Messi, he replied: “Why do I have to choose? Give me everything. All the players, I’ll take [them]. And they’ll play here, I’m sure.”

Some people feel Ronaldo’s desire to play every week is a problem for Red Devils manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, so what does Ranieri think?

“Oh no, no, no, no. Give me Cristiano, please. It’s no problem for me. I’ll let him play all the minutes!” he said.

‘CR7 is good for football’

The Watford manager also opened up on how he feels football benefits from Ronaldo’s presence.

“Cristiano is one of the best players in the world,” added Ranieri.

“He’s good for football because, I think, a lot of young boys are looking at Cristiano, are looking at the best players in the world. He’s a good attraction for the football.”

The Watford and Manchester United match begins at 16:00 (CET) on Saturday.