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What's the story?
Italian international and Olympique Marseille striker, Mario Balotelli, has given his verdict on the infamous Messi-Ronaldo debate.
The former Manchester City star believes that the Portuguese talisman would have been the best player in the world if the Barcelona forward didn't exist.
In case you didn't know..
Following FC Barcelona's 3-0 win over his former side, Liverpool, the Italian sharpshooter took to social media praising the Argentine forward who scored twice to hand the Catalans a three-goal cushion for the second leg of the Champions League semi-final.
The 28-year-old shared an Instagram story with a caption,
"For the good of football, please stop comparing Messi with Juventus' number 7".
He was referring to Lionel Messi's arch-rival, Cristiano Ronaldo. Later, the Italian forward used the medium of Instagram Live to throw light upon his earlier remarks.
The heart of the matter
Giving his verdict on the Messi-Ronaldo debate, Balotelli said (via calciomercato):
"If we speak statistically, they are the same, but I, who played against both of them, can say that I think that Messi is unthinkable, embarrassing, you never take it. As a quality, Messi is superior to all. I am convinced that if you ask a defender if he wants to play against Messi or Ronaldo, he would have no doubts. Messi and Ronaldo are two phenomena, true, but they are not the same."
"If there were no Messi, Ronaldo would be the best in the world. I have a lot of respect for him, of how he trains and I'm glad to see how he plays and how he managed to work on his body. Then people take it out on me and tell you where c ... you are, I have nothing to do with it."
"Where I go, we're talking about the two strongest in the world. Ronaldo with Atletico has touched three balls and three goals, but this is his strength. Yesterday Messi decided the match against Liverpool. I leave the statistics to journalists, but it is better to say Maradona or Pelè. Pele made more goals than Maradona, but when he touched the ball Maradona was something else."
What's next?
After already defending the LaLiga title successfully and booking a place in the Copa Del Rey final, Lionel Messi and co would look to hammer the last nail in Liverpool's coffin, next week, in their bid to secure a chance to win yet another historic treble.
