"He's still the greatest" – Joe Cole weighs in on Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo debate

Joe Cole is the latest former footballer to select Lionel Messi over Cristiano Ronaldo in the GOAT debate. The Chelsea legend believes the Argentine forward is far and away the best footballer in the world.

Messi scored his first goal for new club Paris Saint-Germain in their Champions League win against Manchester City on Tuesday night. Cristiano Ronaldo, however, firmly shifted the spotlight back onto himself when he scored a late winner for Manchester United against Villarreal a day later.

Analyzing the PSG vs Manchester City game for BT Sport, Joe Cole said he was excited to see what Messi could achieve with his new club.

"It was only a matter of time, it was a beautiful goal. He was going to turn up in a big game against Man City," Cole said. "You still get some people saying, "would he be able to do it in England?" Well he's scored goals against the best team in England at the moment."

"What he does so well…to do that at that pace, he's being leant on, and to get a nice connection and reverse it into the top corner is unbelievable. For me he's still the greatest, still the best in the world, I'm just so excited to see what he can do with this PSG team.'"

"Mo Salah is better than Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi" - Dean Saunders

While Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are inarguably the greatest players of all time, former Liverpool forward Dean Saunders believes Mohamed Salah holds the title of the "best player in the world" at the moment.

"Right now, as we speak, who's better than him?. Eight goals in eight games from right-wing, he's not playing down the middle," Saunders told TalkSport. "He just looks unstoppable There's Messi and Ronaldo, who are on their own, but right now they're not as good as Salah."

Lionel Messi's PSG are in action this weekend at Rennes, while Cristiano Ronaldo's Manchester United face Everton at Old Trafford. Mohamed Salah has a big test as Liverpool take on Manchester City.