The debate over who is better among the two - Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo - is a seemingly never-ending one.

Messi and Ronaldo have dominated the football scene for close to two decades and have both scored over 800 goals, while each has many individual and team accolades. Having a clear-cut winner between the two might seem a difficult task, but there now appears to be a definitive answer from a reputable source.

According to Dr Ian Graham, the outgoing director of research at Liverpool FC, a detailed analysis of the stats shows that Argentine great Messi is better.

“It’s Messi,” Graham was quoted as saying by The Guardian and The Times at the Cheltenham Science Festival.

"They are approximately the same for goal scoring. Ronaldo is slightly ahead but if you take out penalties, Messi is slightly ahead," he said. Ronaldo has 837 career goals compared to Messi's 806, but 152 of those from the Portuguese have been penalties while the Argentine's penalty tally is 108.

The main difference between the two, according to Dr Graham, is that Messi is also a top quality attacking midfielder.

“The difference is that Messi is also a world-class attacking midfielder,” he added. “The chances he creates for his teammates are an order of magnitude greater than Ronaldo. Messi does two jobs brilliantly. Ronaldo does one job brilliantly. That’s the difference.”

It was hoped that the football world would get to see Messi and Ronaldo competing with each other once again - this time in Saudi Arabia.

Messi was widely tipped to be on his way to Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal with reports the contract was worth more than $400 million per year. If he had done so, Saudi football would have had another world class player in their fold after Ronaldo signed up for Al Nassr in a pioneering move, followed by Karim Benzema to Al Ittihad recently.

Now it has emerged Messi, who is a free agent after his exit from Paris Saint-Germain was confirmed, will ply his trade in Major League Soccer for Inter Miami, in a deal that includes a collaboration with brands such as Apple and Adidas.

FRANCE SOCCER

Lionel Messi and his Paris Saint-Germain teammates celebrate with the Ligue 1 trophy after the match against Clermont on June 3, 2023. EPA

Updated: June 09, 2023, 2:11 PM