Brazilian football icon Pele finally ends Christiano Ronaldo and Messi debate.
Speaking at a Q&A session in Glasgow titled 'An Evening with Pele', the 75-year-old said that over the last decade and a half Messi's incredible feats and statistics mark him out as the best player in the world, ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Indeed, for Pele, Ronaldo is more of a pure goalscorer whereas Messi is a rounded player who is 'more organised'.
'I could mention some names but what has happened in the last 10 to 15 years, I think Messi is the player who was the most consistent all those years, no doubt,' said Pele.
'We have had a lot of good players. Then Cristiano Ronaldo came late but it is different because Messi is the more organised, he scores goals.'
Real Madrid star Ronaldo is hotly tipped to win a fourth Ballon d'Or in December after winning the Champions League and Euro 2016 last season, but Pele is undeterred over who is the superior player.
'Cristiano Ronaldo is like the Ronaldo from Brazil, he is a good scorer no doubt, but to me as a player it is Messi,' Pele added.
The two players have dominated the World Player of the Year prize in recent memory winning every edition since 2008, with Messi winning on five occasions and Ronaldo on three.
The last player to win the award aside from Messi or Ronaldo was Brazil midfielder Kaka in 2007.
FIFA also announced this morning that they had ended their association with Ballon d'Or, making it highly possible that FIFA will relaunch their own World Player of the Year trophy.
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