A former Real Madrid coach placed another player above Cristiano Ronaldo—and surprisingly, it isn’t Lionel Messi.

© Yasser Bakhsh/Getty ImagesCristiano Ronaldo of Al Nassr during a Saudi Pro League game.

For years, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have battled for the title of the world’s greatest player. Many fans today still favor the Portuguese star over the World Cup champion, but former Real Madrid coach Rafa Benitez offered a surprising perspective. He ranked another current star above Ronaldo.

Speaking on the YouTube channel Shoot for Love, Benitez didn’t hesitate when asked to choose between Cristiano Ronaldo—whom he coached in 2015—and Mohamed Salah. The 65-year-old chose Salah.

“Ronaldo is possibly the best finisher, but Salah is more complete,” Benitez said. Notably, although the Spanish coach has managed both Liverpool and Chelsea, he never coached Salah directly—only faced him as an opponent.

Benitez’s brief stint at Real Madrid

Rafa Benitez joined Real Madrid in mid-2015 on a three-season contract. Following his successful spell at Liverpool, expectations were high for the Spanish manager to keep Los Blancos at the top of Europe. However, he only managed 25 official matches.

Rafa Benitez speaks with Karim Benzema during his time with Real Madrid. (Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)

Despite leading LaLiga at the time, a heavy defeat in El Clasico against Barcelona derailed his tenure. In January 2016, he resigned and was replaced by Zinedine Zidane. Spanish media speculated that tension with Ronaldo contributed to his exit, but Benítez denied this, citing “internal matters at the club” as the reason.

The relationship between Benitez and Ronaldo

The relationship between Benitez and Cristiano Ronaldo became strained amid rumors that the coach tried to advise him on free kicks. While Benitez denied this claim, Ronaldo commented: “You can always learn from coaches; some things yes, others no”.

Benitez later clarified the story: “The only comment I made to Ronaldo, since I knew him from United, was that we analyzed how he took free kicks. We studied the trajectory, looked for adjustments, found none, and then forgot about it. That was my only conversation with him. Everything else is false,” he explained.