Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo? When Diego Maradona brilliantly answered query with high praise for legendary attackers 

Diego Maradona had the perfect response when asked to give his take on the Cristiano Ronaldo vs. Lionel Messi GOAT debate.

Maradona established himself as one of the best players to ever play the game in football history between 1976 and 1997. He sadly passed away in November 2020 after suffering a heart attack in Buenos Aires at the age of 60.

Prior to the tragedy, Maradona gave his input on one of football's most burning questions - Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi? While he sided with the latter, he also reserved plenty of praise for Ronaldo, saying (via SPORTbible):

"I prefer Messi to Cristiano Ronaldo but I acknowledge that the latter is an animal. I wish he was Argentine. He's incredible. He makes me think of Gabriel Batistuta. As soon as he touched the ball, it was a goal. From the few players that I saw, amongst the greatest were [Alfredo] Di Stefano, [Johan] Cruyff, Messi - Cristiano Ronaldo could be in there as well."

Maradona added:

"I can't remember having seen Lionel Messi play badly. There are players who have been touched by a magic wand. We Argentines are proud that Lionel Messi is Argentinian. The other one is an animal. Ronaldo is pure power, and now he's also a sorcerer. He said he'd score three goals and he scored three goals."

Messi would go on to make Maradona proud in December 2022, leading Argentina to 2022 FIFA World Cup Glory, scoring seven goals and winning the Golden Ball in the process.

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Cristiano Ronaldo vs. Lionel Messi: Exploring career stats of both superstars

The Cristiano Ronaldo vs. Lionel Messi GOAT debate has been raging on for well over a decade. Let's take a look at their accomplishments over the course of their storied careers to see how they compare.

Ronaldo has scored 854 goals and provided 242 assists in 1184 appearances across all competitions for club and country. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner takes an average of 113 minutes to find the back of the net and 88 minutes per goal contribution.

The 38-year-old currently plies his trade for Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr and has won 35 major trophies.

On the other hand, Messi has netted 819 goals and registered 361 assists in 1041 appearances for club and country. The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner takes an average of 105 minutes per goal and lands a goal contribution every 73 minutes.

The Argentina ace currently plays for MLS club Inter Miami and has won 44 major trophies, the most in the history of the sport.