Are Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo the two greatest footballers of all time?

In the eyes of many who follow the world's most popular sport, the answer to that question is 'yes'.

The two superstars have broken records galore during the course of their spectacular careers, scoring a ridiculous number of goals and winning trophies aplenty.

What Messi and Ronaldo have done up until now will likely never be repeated and it's been a privilege to watch them dominate football's modern era.

And their undeniable greatness is highlighted by how fellow and ex-professionals speak about them.

Almost every single time one is asked for an opinion on Messi, Ronaldo or both, the person ends up waxing lyrical about them for a significant period of time in response.

Arguably the finest discussion about the pair conducted by ex-professionals came back in 2018 after Ronaldo's iconic bicycle kick for Real Madrid in the Champions League against his former club Juventus.

In the BT Sport studio after that match in Turin, Gary Lineker, Rio Ferdinand and Frank Lampard had one of the most riveting conversations about Messi and Ronaldo we've ever seen on live television.

Check it out in its entirety here...

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi
Soccer Football - La Liga Santander - Real Madrid vs FC Barcelona - Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain - December 23, 2017 Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona’s Lionel Messi leave the pitch at halftime REUTERS/Stringer

Video: Lineker, Ferdinand & Lampard on Messi & Ronaldo

Ferdinand started by saying: “Would they have been able to have kept this up, this relentlessness they’ve shown without each other? If they was out on their own, would they have continued to have done it?"

Lineker agreed with the Manchester United legend, with Ferdinand then replying: “All the great sportsmen have had that someone else to feed off and this is another great rivalry in football. They don’t talk about it, there seems to be respect between them, but they’re just phenomenal to watch.

“People try and make comparisons about who’s better, just enjoy them man.”

Lampard then gave his verdict: “They’re setting standards, we’re taking them for granted, we’re expecting goals in big games, they do it week in and week out. They have the same hunger, they may show it differently, but they want to beat each other, which has created this monster.”

Lineker then asked Ferdinand and Lampard what they believed separated Messi and Ronaldo from other top-class footballers.

The former replied: “You can’t look at that, like they’re up there somewhere and all the other players in the world, don’t care what their egos are saying, they’re looking up there and going ‘I wish’ and I can’t get to that level.”

And Lampard added: “I can’t split them at the moment, but I think over all the eras, I mean we see old videos so it’s hard to compare.

“But the ruthlessness, not just the ability, but the hunger, ruthless finishing and longevity, game after game, year after year scoring in important games, things we takes for granted, it hasn’t been done to this level before.”

The conversation really is still fascinating to watch all these years later.

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