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Since 2008, Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo have claimed every Ballon d’Or award, and in each of the past five years the pair has finished one-two in the voting.

Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo? Who's better?

So which footballer is better? We present seven arguments making the case for each player…

7 REASONS MESSI IS BETTER THAN RONALDO

Messi is better than Ronaldo because, 1) ⚽ Messi’s five Ballons d’Or are the most of any player in history, 2) ⚽ Messi has won four Champions Leagues and eight league titles, whereas Ronaldo has won three Champions Leagues and four league titles, 3) ⚽ over his career, Messi has scored .79 goals per game compared to Ronaldo’s .68, 4) ⚽ Messi has 214 assists in 644 games, while Ronaldo has 183 in 804 games, 5) ⚽ Messi has more goals and assists than anyone in La Liga history, 6) ⚽ in 2012, Messi netted 91 goals, and 7) ⚽ Messi has received only a single red card in his career.

A photo posted by Leo Messi (@leomessi) on

7 REASONS RONALDO IS BETTER THAN MESSI

Ronaldo is better than Messi because, 1) ⚽ Ronaldo has won a European Championship with Portugal, while Messi hasn’t won any tournament with Argentina, 2) ⚽ Ronaldo has won league titles in two different countries (England and Spain), 3) ⚽ Ronaldo has won Ballons d’Or in two different countries, 4) ⚽ Ronaldo is a better athlete than Messi, with superior speed, jumping and strength, 5) ⚽ Ronaldo has 93 Champions League goals to Messi’s 83, 6) ⚽ Ronaldo has four European Golden Shoes to Messi’s three, and 7) ⚽ Ronaldo was named the most charitable sports star by dosomething.org.

A photo posted by Cristiano Ronaldo (@cristiano) on