The Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi debate was given a new dynamic when the former signed for Juventus this summer.

For nine years, the two superstars had plied their trade in La Liga, playing for rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid and regularly locking horns during El Clasico fixtures.

Football fans had become used to seeing both players in star-studded teams in direct competition with each other and assumed that situation would never change.

Fast forward to the present day, though, and Ronaldo has taken the decision to try and win the Champions League title with a third different club.

In doing so, he turned his back on Spanish football and added an extra level of ambiguity to the debate with Messi by removing himself from the same domestic competitions.

What if Ronaldo and Messi swapped clubs?

And so far, the challenge of playing in Italy has certainly proved different with Ronaldo making an unusually quiet start to the new season.

It's made people wonder just how different Serie A really is and begs the question: how would Messi fare if he was the one to sign for Juventus?

Hold that thought because one YouTuber has taken on the fascinating experiment of using FIFA 19 to simulate what would happen if Ronaldo and Messi swapped clubs.

FIFA 19 simulates what would happen

That's right, Ronaldo playing for Barcelona and Messi starring for Juventus.

User BFordLancer48 executed the swap during the summer and first simulated the game until January to see how both players were faring at the halfway mark.

Messi found himself the leading goal-scorer in Serie A, albeit with just 10 strikes, and also led the scoring charts in the Champions League with five.

As for Ronaldo, though, things took a bizarre turn with the 33-year-old struggling at Barcelona and scoring on just two occasions. That's right, two.

Messi won individually, Ronaldo won as a team

However, Barcelona were still doing well in Europe and faced Juventus in the quarter-finals, directly pitting Ronaldo and Messi up against one another.

Ronaldo held the upper hand here by scoring the winner in the first leg - with Messi being subbed at half-time - before Barcelona held on for the win away to Juventus.

Fast forward to the end of the season and Messi finished as the top goal scorer in Europe alongside Philippe Coutinho as well as dominating Serie A.

Meanwhile, Ronaldo sank to a rating of 92 and was outscored by Luis Suarez in the Barcelona side, despite making it further in the Champions League.

Check out the entire video below:

So, it's fair to say FIFA 19 has a somewhat interesting view of Ronaldo and Messi swapping clubs.

They certainly believe that Messi would fare better in Serie A than Ronaldo would by simply swapped Spanish footballing juggernauts.

Seeing the level that Ronaldo dropped off by is certainly stunning and could be attributed to his age, despite the game keeping him with a 90+ rating.

Of course, finding out what would really happen will remain impossible for football fans but - if FIFA 19 is to be trusted - it would be remarkable to witness.

Who do you think would fare better if they swapped - Ronaldo or Messi? Have your say in the comments section below.