Five football legends who have made their pick between Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona

#2 Pele

Pele Australian Tour Press Conference

Brazilian icon Pele was infamously blunt when asked to pick between the two Argentine superstars.

Speaking to Folha de Sao Paulo, the World Cup winner said, "How can you make a comparison between a guy who heads well, shoots well, with the left and with the right, with another guy who only shoots with one leg, can only one dribble and doesn’t finish the ball well with the head?"

"As far as I’m concerned, Maradona was one of the best players ever. If you ask me, 'Was he better than Messi?' Yes, he was. Much better."

“[Franz] Beckenbauer, [Johan] Cruyff were also excellent players."

#3 Mario Kempes

Mario Kempes of Argentina in action

Last year, Mario Kempes or El Matador, who played a pivotal role in Argentina's 1978 World Cup win, stated that the comparisons surrounding Messi and Maradona were silly as they played in different eras.

However, last month, the World Cup winner pin-pointed a key difference between the two. According to AS, Kempes said, "What's the problem that people have here in Spain with Maradona and Messi? They spend the whole day comparing them."

"Personally, I put both of them of a pedestal during their respective eras. One difference if that while Maradona had no one to rival him during his time, Messi did - first there was Ronaldinho and then there was Cristiano… and in spite of all of that, he continues to be the best, because as it stands today, Messi is the best player in the world."

"VAR would have been a disaster for Maradona with his 'Hand of God'. With which one would I liked to have played alongside? With Messi… because I already played alongside Maradona during the World Cup finals here in Spain."