Jose Mourinho's Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi point proving more relevant than ever

Last summer provided a perfect opportunity to truly reignite one of football’s most divisive debates: Who is better, Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi?

After almost two decades at the top of world football, battle lines have been drawn, with both camps as loyal as the other.

With 12 Ballon d’Or crowns between them, there is no question that when they do eventually call it a day, this era will be known as theirs.

The pair have records that wouldn’t look out of place from 1920s football, let alone in 2022.

But with Ronaldo and Messi both deciding to move on from their old clubs last year, comparisons have quickly returned.

It hasn’t been plain sailing for Ronaldo. The Manchester United that he returned to in 2021 is far and away from the one he left more than a decade earlier.

Dominance has shifted to dysfunction, with managerial changes, unhappiness with owners and no Premier League titles in eight years.

But he has managed to find the net 14 times in 23 games for the Red Devils and while his overall performances have been questioned, his goalscoring record can’t be.

Messi meanwhile has endured a similarly up-and-down start to his life away from Barcelona, stunning the football world when he left Barcelona and the security of the Camp Nou for the first time in his career.

In contrast to Ronaldo, the side Messi joined, Paris Saint-Germain, are cruising towards domestic honours, but his goal return has been somewhat less impressive.

In 12 Ligue 1 games Messi has just one goal, with the majority of his scoring feats coming in Europe.

But his continued profligacy in front of goal in the league has led credence to those in the Ronaldo camp that Messi was only able to perform whilst at Barcelona.

That was always the