Lionel Messi made his 700th club appearance last night - and he did so in style.

Within half an hour of Barcelona’s Champions League clash against Borussia Dortmund, Messi had scored and registered an assist.

He added a further assist in the second half as Barca ran out 3-1 winners.

A sensational performance from the Argentine - just like in the previous 699 matches for his club.

The only thing - or player - that is stopping everyone from calling Messi the greatest of all-time is a certain Cristiano Ronaldo.

But with the Portuguese being more than two years older than Messi, it’s hard to compare statistics.

Therefore, we’ve decided to cast our minds back to February 23, 2017.

Why? Because that’s the date Ronaldo made his 700th club appearances - just like Messi did last night.

So let’s see how Messi and Ronaldo’s stats compare when they reached their 700th club game:

GOALS | Messi 613-504 Ronaldo

Messi takes a 109 goal win in this category. Ronaldo deserves credit for scoring in three different countries before his 700th club game for Sporting Lisbon, Manchester United and Real Madrid.

But his goalscoring record simply can’t compare to Messi’s.

ASSISTS | Messi 237-185 Ronaldo

Again, another comfortable Messi win - this time by 52.

The Barca legend is arguably the greatest passer in football history and enjoys setting up his teammates almost as much as scoring himself.

HAT-TRICKS | Messi 46-41 Ronaldo

Messi takes it again with six more hat-tricks than Ronaldo after 700 club games - a quite ridiculous statistic.

Where on earth do you keep 46 match balls!?

TROPHIES | Messi 34-21 Ronaldo

Messi has won everything there is to win at club level with Barca. Ten La Liga titles, six Copa del Reys, eight Spanish Super Cups, four Champions Leagues, three Super Cups and three FIFA Club World Cups.

Ronaldo had *only* won 21 at the same stage of his club career. That included the Portuguese Super Cup, three Premier League titles, an FA Cup, two League Cups, a Community Shield, a La Liga, three Champions Leagues, three FIFA Club World Cups, two Copa del Reys, two Spanish Super Cups and two UEFA Super Cups.

BALLON D’ORS | Messi 5-4 Ronaldo

Messi could be about to get his hands on his sixth Ballon d’Or accolade next week but he’s achieved five before his 700th club game.

Ronaldo had earned four by his 700th cub appearances, before adding a fifth.

So, looking at the basic stats, it seems Messi has achieved more than Ronaldo in his club career in their first 700 matches.

Of course, we all know how incredible Ronaldo has been in recent years.

After reaching the 700 game milestone, Ronaldo scored 44 goals in 44 matches during his final campaign at the Bernabeu - and won another Champions League and Ballon d’Or.

He then completed a move to Juventus, where he scored 28 goals.

Messi will be looking to follow in Ronaldo’s footsteps and continue his incredible standard beyond his 700th club appearance.