Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have both shown just why they will go down as two of the greatest players to ever step on a football pitch this week.

Ronaldo kicked things off with a hat-trick for Juventus in their comeback win against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.

And Messi, who admitted Ronaldo had a “magical night”, followed it up with two goals and two assists in Barcelona’s 5-1 win over Lyon on Wednesday.

Their respective performances have paved the way for the ‘Ronaldo v Messi’ debate to emerge once again, with thousands of football fans weighing in on social media.

Everyone has an opinion on the two players and we should be grateful that, after all these years, they are both still playing at an extraordinary level.

And with Barcelona and Juventus both through to the quarter-final of the Champions League, there’s every chance they will meet at some point in the competition this season.

The outcome of a meeting in the final would go a long way to settling the debate.

Capello: CR7 is extraordinary, but Messi is a genius

Fabio Capello has weighed in with his thoughts and while the Italian shares a positive opinion towards Ronaldo, he’s firmly a part of team Messi.

The former England manager believes Ronaldo is “extraordinary” - but says Messi belongs in the shortlist of football geniuses.

“Ronaldo’s an extraordinary footballer, but Messi is a genius,” Capello told Sky Italia, per Goal.

“There are three geniuses in football: Pele, Maradona and Messi. Period. Ronaldo is very strong as he lets you win everything, but Messi is a genius and something else.

“I faced Messi when he was 16 years old and I was amazed. He did the same things he does today but 20 years younger because he was born a genius.

“He invents things that others don’t see. Ronaldo has made himself a champion, but not a genius.”

The general consensus is that Messi has the natural talent and Ronaldo worked harder than anyone else to become a superstar.

Either way, they are both exceptional talents and they’ve proved that once again this week.

Ronaldo has now scored 23 goals in all competitions for Juventus this season, while Messi has netted 36 goals.