Cristiano Ronaldo v Lionel Messi: the rivalry that defines this era of football.

They've been compared ever since the duo reached the top of the game and, over a decade later, they're still considered to be the best in the world.

With five Ballons d'Or each and countless records between them, it really just comes down to opinion rather than facts.

And one of those opinions that have often gone Messi's way is that he's more of a team player than his great rival.

Ronaldo has long been a supreme goalscorer, developing himself into a complete forward.

Messi, on the other hand, is more of a playmaker, moving around where he's needed but who also happens to score an awful lot of goals.

But according to Argentina legend Mario Kempes, things are changing as the two players get older.

“Messi is Messi and Messi is Barcelona," Kempes told AS. “What you do or do not do is key.

"When Messi is on the field, prepare yourself, because you do not know at what moment he is going to mess you up.

“But Messi should not surprise us. We have seen him do everything, although I think he has slowed down a bit and now I see him wanting to do more things on his own.

“Before I saw him as a team player, now I see him more selfish in his actions. It is the opposite of Cristiano, who now plays more for the team than for the 'me'."

It's certainly an interesting take - although people will certainly point to Messi haven't more assists than anyone else in Europe this season.

But that's not the point. Ronaldo has moved towards being a fundamental part of a successful Juventus team.

Messi has instead moved to effectively being the Barcelona team - he was the undisputed driving force as they won La Liga the last two seasons.

Kempes, who was top scorer as Argentina won their first World Cup in 1978, also revealed who he wishes he'd have played with.

“I will tell you another thing, we Argentines criticise Messi because we are specialists in criticising what is ours," he said.

“If you ask me who I would have liked to play with, I would say that with Messi... because I already played with [Diego] Maradona.”