The Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo debate can be tiresome. 

Two of the greatest players to ever grace the game, so much has been said about both and social media is constantly awash with deluded supporters trying to play down their achievements. 

Still, as frustrating as that can be at times, it's always interesting to hear what some of their contemporaries say. Indeed, to listen to the opinions of those to have played either against or alongside either is genuinely insightful, much more so than constantly reading 'Pessi' or 'Penaldo' in deranged Twitter messages. 

Of those peers, Wayne Rooney seems well-placed to comment. 

Playing alongside Ronaldo during a glory period for Manchester United, the former England captain won three Premier League titles and the Champions League with the Portuguese. 

As prolific partnership as it was, it seems it wasn't enough to sway Rooney. 

Considering Rio Ferdinand recently revealed Ronaldo would be so angry at pundits such as Gary Lineker claiming they preferred his great rival that he would text him, perhaps Rooney on the receiving end of a message too. 

When promoting his book 'My Decade in the Premier League' back in 2012, he was asked by Richard Keys as to where he stood on the great footballing debate of our times. 

"I think Messi," he responded when asked the question so many of us have heard before. 

"In my eyes anyway, I think Messi is the best ever. 

"I just think the way he plays the game, the goals he scores, it just looks spectacular."

Clearly, it's hard to say something about Messi that hasn't been said before. 

What is worth mentioning is that the fact we are collectively lost for words. The brilliance of both he and Ronaldo has become normalised now, so much so that it's actually easy to get lost in the numbers and not fully appreciate what it is they are actually doing.