Wayne Rooney heaped praise on Lionel Messi after his move to Inter Miami, eventually risking upsetting fans of his former team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo.

The DC United coach, who moved to the Major Soccer League in 2018 — expressed his excitement ahead of Messi’s arrival, saying that he is “arguably the best EVER”.

Messi is set to leave Paris St-Germain this summer and join Inter Miami, with his grand unveiling at the club pencilled in for July 16, said the Daily Mail.

Cristiano Ronaldo (left), Wayne Rooney and Lionel Messi. — Reuters/File

Speaking during an interview with Sky Sports, Rooney talked about the signing of a big name and how it inspire Miami. “It’s a great move, obviously, for the MLS,” he said.

“Commercially, it’ll be huge. It’ll draw more interest in the game from different regions of the world — I’m sure it’ll do that as well because you’re getting arguably the best player to ever play the game.

“I’m sure he’ll come here and want to be competitive, and want to try and help Miami to climb up the table.

“I think not just fans, but coaches, players — everyone is excited to have him in the league,” said Rooney.

However, his comments are likely to spark anger among Ronaldo’s fans for considering Messi as the greatest.

The rivalry between the fans of Messi and Ronaldo has been going on for long enough as to who is the superior footballer. Both the players have cumulatively received 12 Ballon d’Or — with five to Ronaldo’s name and seven to Messi’s.

Meanwhile, Rooney had close contact with both football stars as he featured alongside Ronaldo during their days at Man United and against Messi during one of their sides’ Champions League match-ups.