Wayne Rooney: 'Lionel Messi is better than Diego Maradona'

Wayne Rooney has claimed that Lionel Messi is a better player than Diego Maradona was in his illustrious career.

The Manchester United forward has faced off against the 28-year-old in two Champions League finals and has been on the receiving end of defeats in both matches against Barcelona.

Rooney believes that Messi has more quality than Maradona, despite his failure to win the World Cup, which was achieved by the Argentine legend in 1986.

He told reporters: "Up to a couple of years ago, people were saying Messi wasn't Maradona because he hadn't won the World Cup. In my mind, Messi is a better player than Maradona. But that's how football is."

Messi has won the FIFA Ballon d'Or four times in his career.