I played with Ronaldo, Messi and Rooney – but one Man Utd legend was a level above

Carlos Tevez revealed that neither Cristiano Ronaldo nor Lionel Messi is the best player he's played with, instead handing that title to Paul Scholes. The Argentine spent two years at Old Trafford and won the Premier League and Champions League double in 2008, alongside Ronaldo, Scholes and Wayne Rooney.

He also featured in the Argentina national team with Messi for a decade before retiring from international duty in 2015. Tevez's storied career has seen him rub shoulders with some of the best players football has ever seen.

While many would suspect Ronaldo, Messi or Rooney would rank as the greatest player he shared a dressing room, the 42-year-old put forth a different answer when appearing on the Rio Ferdinand Presents channel.

The former England captain first asked: "Yeah, oh man. Why did they let you go, man? When I think about the front three. You, Ronaldo, Rooney and then Berbatov. Just quickly a couple of quick questions. Scholes or David Silva?"

Tevez immediately chose his ex-Red Devils team-mate before revealing: "For me the best player. For me the best player." Even when reminded of his time playing with Ronaldo and Messi, the former Man City star reiterated: "For me, it's Scholes."

He proceeded to wax lyrical about Scholes' passing ability without seemingly having to communicate, as Tevez told Ferdinand: "Do you remember at training. Like this, No speak, nothing. First ball."

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Despite his successful two-year loan spell at Old Trafford, Tevez tainted his United legacy when joining rivals City in 2009. The Argentine opened up about why he made the move across Manchester, revealing that Sir Alex Ferguson played a major role in his decision.

He explained: "They spoke to me. The two year loan, after, if you play well, pay the contract after one year. Fergie told me, 'Carlos, I'm going to pay out your contract and you're going to stay in Manchester'. The team went to a pre-season in Los Angeles.

"I remember this conversation with Fergie. He said, 'I’m going to pay for Berbatov but don't worry, I'm going to buy you the thing and we'll do your contract'. For me, the Man United fans understand. You remember in the game the fans speaking to Ferguson. 'Fergie, sign him. Sign him up, sign him up.'"

He added: "For me it was... It was hard Rio. It was hard because I felt like I'd given my heart to United. And I didn't feel the same. I didn't feel the same because, uh, if you remember, we won the Champions League.

"We won the league and, and then, to bring down my price, they brought in a player and I carried on the same way for the first months. The second months, let's say, of the second year. But by the second, the second month, I didn't want to know any more.

"I think that Ferguson had, from the day we talked in Los Angeles up to six months to keep his word. And he didn't. On the contrary, he started leaving me on the bench. In my head. He started pushing me aside so he could bring down what I was worth. And that's what hurt me the most."

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