Giggs says Messi, not former Man U teammate Ronaldo best ever CL player

London: Manchester United veteran Ryan Giggs has started the mind games with Cristiano Ronaldo by telling him ahead of their mouthwatering Champions League tie against Real Madrid that Barcelona`s Lionel Messi is the best player in Europe not him.

Ronaldo will face Manchester united for the first time since leaving in 2009 after they were paired with Real Madrid in yesterday`s Champions League last-16 draw. But Giggs has lit the fuse ahead of the lip smacking clash by insisting it is old rival Messi who is the best around, not Ronaldo. The Portuguese winger and Barcelona superstar Messi have been locked in a long-running battle for the past four years to be the greatest player on the planet. "You have to think Messi," the Daily Star quoted Giggs, as saying when asked who the greatest ever Champions League player is. "At the moment he is breaking all sorts of records. He is one of the greatest players to ever live and he as won it a couple of times," he added. "I would have to go for Messi. He is a goalscorer - he scores so many goals - but he is a team player as well. He sets up so many goals for his teammates and having experience playing against him, he is tough. It is difficult to get the ball off him," he said. Giggs added: "He can dribble, he can score any type of goal, left foot, right foot, headers. He has got so many assets - it`s very, very tough to pin him down." ANI