Another day, another row between Gary Lineker and Piers Morgan over who the greatest footballer of all time is.
The latest spat between the two presenter came after Lionel Messi produced a vintage display to inspire Paris Saint-Germain to a 4-3 win against Troyes on Saturday. The Argentine, 35, scored from distance and provided a sublime assist to secure the points.
Match of the Day host Lineker is one Messi's biggest fans, while TalkTV presenter Morgan believes Cristiano Ronaldo is the greatest footballer to ever grace the game. As we all know, the two players have shared a respectful rivalry over the past 15 years.
The latest row unfolded when Lineker tweeted in response to Messi's assist for Neymar's goal. "This sort of mesmerising vision and weight of pass, more than the enormous number of goals he scores, is what separates Messi from everyone else... oh, and then there's his unbelievable dribbling ability," tweeted an entranced Lineker on Saturday evening.
Yet Morgan replied: "Your own dribbling about Messi today is even more mesmerising. PSG limped to a 4-3 win over those legendary football titans Troyes... come back to me if your GOAT [greatest of all time] actually plays in a meaningful league again."
In an attempt to diffuse the spat, Lineker responded: "You're getting as beaten up about his superiority as your GOAT. Just enjoy them. You don't need to get all competitive."
Who do you agree with? Let us know in the comments below!
But that just led Morgan to write: "There can only be one GOAT and I prefer the guy who's been a champion in four leagues, and for his country."
It's believed Morgan was referring to Ronaldo, as his statistics are a little bit confusing. It's true that Ronaldo has won trophies in four countries, although the honour he claimed in Portugal was the Supertaca Candido de Oliveira - also known as the Portuguese Super Cup - and he did not play in the 5-1 win against Leixoes in August 2002. It's either that or Morgan was referring to Ronaldo's Euro 2016 triumph.
In terms of international honours, Messi has actually claimed more medals than Ronaldo. Messi has won the Copa America, Finalissima, the 2008 Olympics and U20 World Cup for Argentina. He also reached three other Copa America finals and the 2014 World Cup final.
In comparison, Ronaldo has won two honours at international level - the aforementioned Euros and Nations League. Yet the Portuguese superstar has scored 117 senior goals for his country, which is a record. Messi, meanwhile, has 90 senior goals for Argentina.
Rather than address Morgan's claim, Lineker instead replied with a picture of a 14-year-old column from Morgan entitled "Ronaldo is a spoiled brat, why cheer him?" Lineker added: "You change your mind depending on who allows you to interview them. Has Cristiano seen this?"
Yet two can play at that game. Morgan replied with a headline that read "Lineker: Messi's no [Diego] Maradona". The Ronaldo enthusiast added: "Talking of fickle, Jugs [Lineker] - you shown this to Messi?"
Lineker simply asked in response: "That the best you could come up with?"
Morgan then replied: "To clarify, you changed your mind after Messi let you interview him, right?"
Lineker answered: "No, that’s not true. I only interviewed Messi for the first time two years ago. Truth is there's very little to choose between Messi and Maradona, but they are, by some distance, the two greatest players I’ve ever seen."
Morgan disagreed, however. He replied: "Ronaldo's the goat and everyone with a proper football brain knows it. Not even close."
But Lineker wasn't backing down. He tweeted: "You could make some sort of argument about who is the greatest goal scorer, but as footballers, there really is no comparison."
Lineker then added a screenshot of a historical tweet from Morgan which read: "Messi's the greatest footballer ever, and Cristiano is the second best. Any further debate is superfluous - I have spoken." The ex-England striker added: "Fantastic."
Rest assured, this debate will rumble on for some time yet.
