Retired Italian footballer Antonio Cassano has weighed in his with thoughts on the Cristiano Ronaldo v Leo Messi debate.

They've each won five Ballon d'Or awards and - despite their age - are still considered to be the two finest footballers in world football.

Ronaldo, 33, quit Real Madrid for Juventus in a £99.2m deal last week.

Cassano, who himself spent two years at the Santiago Bernabeu, thinks Ronaldo was a "bargain" for the Serie A giants.

“He has these gifts from Mother Nature, but above all his mentality, the consistency of his training, his professionalism – all the things I hated,” confessed Cassano to Vanity Fair.

“I admire him a great deal for his ability to always be focused. He’ll remain in history forever as one of the greats and he deserved this success, because he earned it through talent, but above all through hard work.

“Cristiano will have a wonderful new experience, Juve will pay him a rich salary, but are still happy because €100m for a player like that is a bargain.

“He is 33 years old according to his birth certificate, but he looks after his physique so carefully it’s almost maniacal. With the level of this Serie A, he can score 30-40 goals per season for a long while yet."

Cassano on Messi v Ronaldo

The 36-year-old Italian spoke total sense on the difference between Messi and Ronaldo.

Cassano said: “I love Messi not as a counter-point to Cristiano, but because in my view he’s the best of all time and the emotions he gives me are unique.

“If I have to rationalise it or convince you, I ask you to find me someone else who handles the ball and scores so consistently as Messi.

“Cristiano lacks nothing, let’s be clear, but that’s not the point. I love tennis. Now, Cristiano is like Nadal, a fantastic athlete built on talent, but also hard work and desire.

“Messi is more like Federer. He is pure artistry and class. They are different, and you can prefer one to the other.

"I am with Messi, as he can make the difference even when standing still, he almost doesn’t need physical fitness.”

Cassano could not have put it any better.

Messi [the artist] and Ronaldo [the athlete] are indeed the Federer and Nadal of the football world.

Such is his love of Messi, Cassano named his newborn son Lionel in 2013.