Piers Morgan has outlined a “pretty large sheet of facts” to demonstrate why Cristiano Ronaldo is the greatest player of all time.

It’s one of the most contentious issues in recent memory. Who is football’s all-time great?

Is it Cristiano Ronaldo, the former Manchester United and Real Madrid striker who has the most club goals and the most international goals in history?

Or is it Lionel Messi, the former Barcelona forward who has won seven Ballon d’Ors, six European golden boots, and three International golden balls?

Fans remain divided on the subject, but journalist and TV personality Piers Morgan is adamant that Ronaldo is the greatest.

“Listen, I thought Messi was absolutely sensational last night,” he told talkSPORT after Argentina’s semi-final victory over Croatia on Wednesday.

“He’s one of the greatest players to ever play the game – the debate though, is ‘is he the greatest’?

“And on that I will always put up a very passionate and I think quite forensic defence of Ronaldo and why I think he deserves that title because one World Cup does not make a GOAT.

“If it did, the debate about Maradona, who has won the World Cup and Messi hasn’t – Maradona is the greatest Argentinian to ever play the game, and I don’t think Messi even gets that GOAT title.”

Morgan went on to say that one of the reasons Messi made the decision was to stay in his “comfort blanket” at former club Barcelona.

“When comparing Ronaldo and Messi stats, keep in mind that Ronaldo is two years and four months older than Messi,” he added.

“It’s also worth noting that, unlike Messi, who stayed in his Barcelona comfort blanket for 16-17 years, Ronaldo has won league titles in a variety of countries, including the three most competitive leagues in the world.

“He’s taken himself out of comfort zones – he could have stayed at Real Madrid most of his career if he wanted but he didn’t want to. He has purposefully placed himself in new leagues, battles, and challenges.

“Even coming back to Manchester United last season was a big thing for him to do whereas Messi has only ever done it for Barcelona where all round him the entire time were the world’s greatest players and Ronaldo has often had to lead that line pretty much on his own.

“So, in terms of career goals and Champions League goals, I believe Ronaldo is far ahead. He’s better in the air and with both feet, though Messi has a left-foot wand. I have a pretty large sheet of facts that lead me to believe that not only is Ronaldo the GOAT, but Messi is only the second-biggest GOAT from Argentina.”

For years, many players and pundits have proclaimed Messi to be the best. Wayne Rooney, Ronaldo’s former teammate, declared Messi the GOAT on Tuesday, ten years after making the claim on Twitter.

Even after witnessing the Argentine rip up this winter’s World Cup, Morgan remains skeptical.

“I’ve been watching a lot of the Messi fanboying over the last couple of weeks and laughing. Okay, he’s having a good World Cup – it’s the first one he’s turned up to, let’s be honest – he’s having a good time,” he said.

“Am I wrong to say if you stay at a team like Barcelona your entire career and then go to a very easy league like the French league, are you really a better player over that time than someone who has consistently won titles in three of the most competitive leagues that there are? I’m not convinced you are.

“I veer towards Ronaldo simply on this question: if it was the proverbial wet Wednesday at Stoke and you had to bring on one player to score a goal to save your life – would it be Ronaldo or would it be Messi?

“And I believe that in that scenario, most football fans would lean toward Cristiano Ronaldo in order to win a game for their lives.”

What are your thoughts on the controversy? Ronaldo or Messi?

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