Who is the best player in the world?

It’s a question football fans have been debating for the past decade with the answer being either Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo.

The two superstars have shared five Ballon d’Or each over the last 10 years but there’s signs that their duopoly is slowly fading.

That’s because Luka Modric claimed FIFA’s ‘The Best’ award last month and is odds-on favourite to claim the Ballon d’Or in December.

Modric helped Real Madrid to Champions League glory last season and led his Croatian side to the World Cup final in the summer.

But after dominating the individual awards in 2018, does that make Modric the best player in the world?

Well, many fans still think it’s between Messi and Ronaldo.

And legendary goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has now had his say.

When asked which club he considers to be favourites for the Champions League this season, the PSG ‘keeper gave a resounding answer.

"Champions League favorites? You have to say Barcelona because they have the best player in the world,” Buffon said.

The second favourites?

Well, Buffon has applied the same logic and believes his former club Juventus could challenge Barca.

“Then Juventus who signed the other player who is considered the best,” Buffon added.

Buffon has always been a big fan of Messi and an image of him touching the superstars face is famous after the goalkeeper explained that he had to "touch Messi to see if he was human like the rest of us."

While Buffon considers Messi as the best in the world, it took the Argentine three matches to score past him.

But Messi bagged a brace at the Camp Nou last season as Barcelona beat Juventus 3-0, ending his Buffon drought.