FOOTBALL’S age-old debate over who is the real GOAT has FINALLY been answered, with Lionel Messi easily beating Cristiano Ronaldo.
Incredible statistics appear to suggest the Barcelona superstar has dominated his Portuguese rival over the last decade.
Football fans have argued endlessly over which player deserves to be crowned the best on the planet.
The pair have collected 11 Ballon d’Or trophies between them, but this is a debate that will long outlive their careers.
Messi, 33, has spent his entire career with Barcelona where has won the LaLiga title ten times and four Champions League titles.
Juventus star Ronaldo, 35, has won league titles in Spain, England and Italy as well the Champions League five times.
However, WhoScored have used over 20 sets of data to rate the pair’s performances over the last decade.
And there’s one clear winner.
Messi has dominated Spain’s top-flight with an average match rating of 8.6/10 over the last ten years.
Ronaldo has managed an average rating of 8.3/10 during his time with Real Madrid and now Juventus.
The statistics claim there has only been one season in the last decade that Ronaldo has matched Messi on the pitch.
Both of the stars were given a ranking of 8.3/10 for their efforts during the 2013-14 campaign.
And Messi was way ahead of his Ballon d’Or rival in the most-recent season, despite scoring fewer goals.
In all competitions, the Barcelona star has laid on 24 assists and scored 34 goals in 46 appearances.
Cristiano Ronaldo has been the star of the show for Juventus this seasonCredit: Reuters
Ronaldo racked five assists – miles adrift of Messi – and scored 35 goals – just one more than the Barca star – in 46 matches for Maurizio Sarri’s Juventus side.
Twelve players, including Deco and Gonzalo Higuain, have had their say on who is the better player out of the two.
The pair have also given their opinions on each other when quizzed about their rivalry on and off the pitch.
Lionel Messi has won six Ballon d’Or titles during his careerCredit: AFP or licensors
Cristiano Ronaldo in phenomenal shape as he returns to training at Juventus
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
