As much as they try, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo simply can’t separate themselves from one another.

Messi scored a fine brace last Wednesday as Barcelona secured their place in the quarter-final of the Champions League.

How did Ronaldo respond? By hitting four for Real Madrid in their win over Girona on Sunday.

It seems the pair are doing everything they can to ensure the Messi versus Ronaldo remains impossible to settle.

The general consensus is that if you love beautiful football, you love Messi, while you opt for Ronaldo if you’re a fan of pure supremacy.

But that’s just a rough guide.

It’s much easier to simply appreciate both.

Balotelli picked between Messi, Ronaldo and Suarez

Usually the debate is Messi versus Ronaldo. But in a recent interview with Mario Balotelli, Luis Suarez’s name was thrown into the mix.

Suarez is up there alongside Robert Lewandowski and Edinson Cavani as one of the finest strikers in the world but nobody in the current era has been put on the same pedestal as Messi and Ronaldo before.

Indeed, Suarez finished 13th in the voting for the 2017 Ballon d’Or award. Isco and Harry Kane were among those named ahead of him.

But Balotelli stuck by the strikers union and picked Suarez when asked to choose between the Uruguayan, Ronaldo and Messi, according to Sport.

Only Mario!

Apparently Balotelli, speaking to television network TF1, didn’t even hesitate when answering the question.

Let’s be honest, it’s to be expected that Balotelli would choose Suarez over two players who have combined to win the Ballon d’Or 10 times.

It was during the same interview that the former Manchester City and Liverpool striker managed to rile Paris Saint-Germain by comparing them to Guingamp, who currently sit 14th in Ligue 1 and have lost their past three matches.

“Paris are like Guingamp, they’re a Ligue 1 team,” the 27-year-old added. “I don't care if it's PSG. It doesn't make any difference.

“This season I have never watched PSG, only the last game against Real Madrid. They deserved to lose.”

You can always rely on Balotelli for a good quote or two.