Who is the greatest player of all time?

These days, there are only really two possible answers to that question: Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo.

Of course, those of an older generation may bring up the likes of Diego Maradona or Pele.

But what Messi and Ronaldo have for more than a decade surpasses everyone that has gone before.

The two superstars have won 11 Ballon d’Ors between them in the last 12 years with Messi leading Ronaldo by six awards to five.

And they’ve set a whole new standard when it comes to goalscoring and assisting.

Gone are the days that one goal in every two matches was a decent ratio for a striker.

Messi and Ronaldo have averaged almost a goal a game for their entire career. That's not to mention the fact Messi broke his own La Liga record for assists this weekend with his 19th having hit 18 on two previous occasions.

With the Portuguese legend being two years older than Messi, it can sometimes be difficult to compare their records against each other.

But there’s one stat doing the rounds that puts it into context a little bit.

Because if Messi goes 15,000 minutes or 166 matches without a goal or an assist, he would have a career G/A every 85.3 minutes. That means he averages a goal or an assist every 85.3 minutes.

Meanwhile, Ronaldo currently has a G/A every 85.6 minutes.

So Messi can go the next three seasons without a single assist or goal and still better Ronaldo's current record.

Remarkable.

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It really does put into context just how incredible Messi’s goal involvement stats are.

It’s easy to forget that he’s actually two years younger than Ronaldo and, in theory, has two more years in order to catch Ronaldo’s tally.

What the stat doesn’t include, though, is the fact Ronaldo has done it in a variety of leagues.

After his move to Manchester United as a teenager, he dominated England with 118 goals in 292 appearances. Remember, many of them were as a winger.

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Then came his incredible spell at Real Madrid, where he managed a quite ridiculous 450 goals in 438 matches. Now at Juventus, he’s notched 57 in 81.

Incredible numbers in three of the best leagues in the world.

But they don’t quite match up to Messi…