Ask Luke Shaw for his opinion on the Cristiano Ronaldo vs. Lionel Messi debate and the left-back is likely to choose his Manchester United teammate.

But in a bunch of old tweets, Shaw wasn’t afraid to position himself firmly in the Messi camp.

Fans have uncovered some tweets from Shaw in 2012 and 2013, when he was a Southampton player, and it’s clear he was one of Messi’s biggest fans.

Who knows, Shaw’s opinion on the debate might have changed since he started playing with Ronaldo.

But it’s still funny to look through the England international’s old tweets and imagine Ronaldo’s reaction when he reads them himself.

Shaw's tweets on Messi vs. CR7

In 2012, Shaw responded to a tweet from former Southampton teammate Jamal Branker, who praised Ronaldo after the Portuguese star bagged a brace against the Netherlands at Euro 2012.

The left-back responded: “Look at you begging of him cause he has had one good game. Messi does it all the time! Now shhh #TeamMessi.”

Then, on February 13, 2013, Shaw replied to a tweet asking what Messi can do that Ronaldo can’t by writing: “Scored 91 goals in 1 year. Has Ronaldo done that?”

At this point we reckon Shaw had posters of Messi in his bedroom growing up.

A couple of weeks later, he fired off a tweet in which he actually praised Ronaldo.

It came after the forward scored twice against Barcelona to send Real Madrid through to the final of the Copa del Rey.

Shaw described Ronaldo as “unstoppable” - although he was keen to point out that he’s still in Messi’s shadow.

“Not really a Ronaldo fan but fair play to him tonight, always been in Messi shadow, but the way he is playing at the moment is unstoppable,” Shaw wrote.

What does Shaw think about Ronaldo now?

And Shaw’s respect for Ronaldo has only grown since he arrived at Old Trafford last summer.

Shortly after his return to the club, Shaw hailed the impact that the five-time Ballon d’Or winner had on the dressing room.

“You know the star he is, what he has been doing over a number of years, it is just unbelievable to be in a dressing room with him," Shaw told BBC Radio 5 Live. 

"You see the way he conducts himself, how professional he is. It's clear to me why he has been at the top for so many years. 

"His mentality is second to none. I think he has really improved that in and around the changing room."

Shaw's clearly in awe of Ronaldo as a player and as a person.

Still, we wouldn't be surprised if those old tweets are soon deleted.