"The man is a legend" - Paul Merson has no doubt as to who the best finisher in the world is between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi

Arsenal legend Paul Merson has implied that Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo is a better finisher than Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) star Lionel Messi.

The debate over whether Cristiano Ronaldo is better than Messi or vice versa will keep raging on. For Merson, however, the Portuguese icon leads his Argentine counterpart in one important area - finishing.

Over the past few years, Ronaldo's transition from left-winger to centre-forward has been made seamless due to his incredible finishing ability. He became the first player to score 700 goals in club football history when he netted in United's 2-1 win against Everton on 9 October.

Speaking about the feat, Merson said on Sky Sports (h/t Manchester Evening News):

"He is one of the greatest players of all time. For me, he [Cristiano Ronaldo] is the best finisher of all-time in my opinion. He has 700 goals, I mean if you score 700 goals on a Sunday morning that would take some doing."

Merson claimed that the achievement is even more impressive given that he is playing for a club that doesn't play a brand of smooth, hyper-attacking football.

He continued:

"It has been hard. The team he plays in [Manchester United] and the way he plays it was always going to be a struggle and that is why it has been hard. The man is a legend."

In comparison, Messi has 691 goals in 825 club appearances across competitions. Cristiano Ronaldo, meanwhile, achieved his feat in 944 appearances at club level.

His left-footed finish past Jordan Pickford in the win against the Toffees was a reminder of how good he is with both feet. To add to that, he is arguably one of the best headers in the sport, making him a complete striker.

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Football world braces itself for the first Ballon d'Or winner that isn't Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi

It is almost certain that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will not win the Ballon d'Or award on Monday (October 17).

France Football's president Pascal Ferre himself hinted that nothing - not even his off-field controversies - could stop Karim Benzema from potentially winning the trophy.

This will be the first time since 2007 that neither Ronaldo nor Messi will be favorites to lift the Ballon d'Or trophy. Luka Modric is the only other player to have won the prestigious award since 2007. However, Ronaldo was a strong contender that year (2018) too.

Robert Lewandowski could have ended this run in 2020 if the awards weren't called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic, much to the dismay of the Poland international himself.