“There are players who have been touched by a magic wand”, “The other one is an animal” – Recalling how Diego Maradona summed up Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo debate

Many footballing figures have consistently showered praise on Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Quite a few such instances have come up in recent years.

However, when such praise comes from a legendary figure like Diego Maradona, you always know it is quite special.

Before his death, the Argentine great jumped on the Lionel Messi versus Cristiano Ronaldo debate, providing a brilliant response that perfectly summed up the two superstars.

The Albiceleste legend naturally sided with his countryman but acknowledged the Portuguese as well. He said Ronaldo reminded him of another Argentine icon, Gabriel Batistuta, due to his goalscoring prowess.

"I prefer Messi to Cristiano Ronaldo but I acknowledge that the latter is an animal," Diego Maradona explained, as quoted by SportBible.

"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."

On Ronaldo, he added:

"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."

The former Argentina and Napoli superstar also had more interesting things to say about Lionel Messi. Maradona stated that he hasn't seen the current Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) star play badly, adding that he seems to have been touched by a magic wand.

"I can't remember having seen Lionel Messi play badly," he said.

"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."

How Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have started the current campaign

The duo are still eager to compete at the top of the game.

Messi appears to have put his slow start to life at PSG behind him, having started the new season in spectacular form. He was the difference maker for the Parisians once again last weekend, scoring the only goal that granted his side a vital 1-0 victory over Lyon in Ligue 1.

Overall, the playmaker has made 11 appearances for the French giants across all competitions so far this season, recording six goals and eight assists.

Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo seems to be affected by the intense speculation that surrounded his future at Manchester United this summer.

The Portuguese went goalless in his first seven games of the season but finally opened his account with a goal versus FC Sheriff in the Europa League last week.