The Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi debate has been prominent for what seems like forever, with both players undoubtedly reaching legendary status within the game.
But how do the two compare this season?
Barcelona superstar Messi produced yet another incredible season in 2018/19 as he netted 51 goals in all competitions, surpassing the 50 goal mark for the sixth time in his illustrious career.
Whilst Ronaldo needed time to adjust to the Serie A in his debut season at Juventus , taking him four games to find the net for the first time, before going on to have his worst season in front of goal since 2008/09, netting 27 times in all competitions.
Ronaldo finished the season in fourth place in the Serie A goals tally, finishing behind: Krzysztof Piatek, Duvan Zapata and Fabio Quagliarella.
However, this season could be a different story with Messi enduring an injury-hit start to 2019/20. The Argentine missed the first four La Liga games of the campaign due to a calf problem, but has still managed to score two goals and register four assists in six appearances.
Ronaldo, 34, has started this term a lot better than he started the last, netting five goals and assisting one from 10 appearances.
If international football is included in the debate, Ronaldo has the edge over his rival.
Combining both players stats from their UEFA Nations League and Copa America tournaments with this seasons stats: Ronaldo has 15 goals and one assist in just 18 appearances, meanwhile, Messi only has eight goals and four assists in one more game.
Throughout their international careers, Ronaldo has been superior to Messi.
The former Manchester United ace won the 2016 UEFA European Championship and this year's UEFA Nations League, whilst also holding the record for the most goals in a Euro campaign, with nine goals.
Portugal’s record goalscorer recently notched the 700th goal of his career in a 2-1 loss to Ukraine and is fast approaching his 100th international goal, currently sitting on 95, in 162 appearances.
Whereas, Argentina captain Messi has scored 68 goals from 136 appearances. Finishing as runner-up in the 2014 World Cup, 2015 Copa America and then again in the 2016 Copa America Centenario.
Messi did of course retire from international duty back in 2016 but returned to the side for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in September 2016, and played a big part in their qualification campaign, scoring a hat-trick against Ecuador to ensure their third place finish.
Both players have yet again been nominated for this years Ballon d’Or but will face tough competition from Liverpool and Netherlands centre-back, Virgil Van Dijk, who could become only the second player to beat Ronaldo and Messi to the trophy in 11 years.
2018 was the first time in 11 years where Lionel Messi controversially finished outside of the top three in the Ballon d’Or rankings.
Cristiano Ronaldo ’s ex-teammate Paul Scholes weighed in on the debate during an interview with ESPN, saying: “Messi (is the best) but Ronaldo is brilliant. Ronaldo is sensational at what he does, with pace and power.
“He score, he takes free-kicks. But as an all-round footballer, Messi - wow, his passing - has absolutely everything.”
