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‘That’s what separates him from Messi’ – Cristiano Ronaldo hailed by Andy Gray after 700th goal

Cristiano Ronaldo celebrated his landmark 700th goal during Manchester United’s 2-1 win over Everton on Sunday evening.

The legendary Portuguese forward produced a cool finish past Jordan Pickford after good work from Casemiro in midfield.

Ronaldo was named among the substitutes by Erik ten Hag but entered the fray in the 29th minute after Anthony Martial failed to recover from an injury that he suffered during the warm-up

The scores were already locked at 1-1 when Ronaldo took to the field following earlier strikes from Alex Iwobi and Antony, who scored his third goal in as many games.

Marcus Rashford thought he’d added a third for United in the second half but the goal was controversially disallowed for handball following a VAR review.

Andy Gray: ‘This is what separates Ronaldo from Messi’

Over on beIN Sports, veteran pundit Andy Gray analysed Ronaldo’s extraordinary goalscoring record at half-time and explained why Man Utd’s No. 7 has the edge over Lionel Messi, in his opinion.

“See that, for me, is what separates him from Messi,” Gray said.

“When people say ‘who has been the best player in the world?’

“I think that separates him from Messi, in my opinion, that he’s done it [at Real Madrid, Manchester United and Juventus].

“Three different countries, three different types of football, three different challenges – and he’s risen to every one of them, on a personal level.”

Video: Andy Gray claims Ronaldo has the edge over Messi after 700th goal

Watch the video here:

That Ronaldo has done it in England, Spain and Italy does give him the edge over Messi in the eyes of some fans and pundits, such as Gray.

But Messi’s admirers can now argue that the Argentina forward has at least done it in two different countries: Spain and France.

While there was little for Messi to shout about during his first season at Paris Saint-Germain, he still managed to win the Ligue 1 title.

Furthermore, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner’s performances so far this season at PSG have been nothing short of exceptional.

Will Messi or Ronaldo win the 2022 World Cup?

While the Messi vs Ronaldo debate is likely to rage on for many years to come, even after both players have hung up their boots, that could all change if either player manages to lift the World Cup in Qatar this winter.

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