Angel Di Maria has had the privilege of playing with both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Since retiring from international football, he has gone on to acknowledge Messi as the GOAT based on one key metric.
Di Maria shared the pitch with Messi at both PSG and the Argentine national team, where they celebrated winning the World Cup in 2022.
He also played alongside Ronaldo at Real Madrid, winning the Champions League with the Portuguese star in 2014.
But what makes him say that the Barcelona legend is the greatest of all time?
All the latest EPL club news | Team-by-team Premier League schedule for 2024/25 | Latest Premier League top scorer rankings
Di Maria: It's all about Ballon d'Ors
Di Maria has been reflecting on his career and reignited the debate on who is the superior player in a recent interview.
He argues that Messi's superiority comes down to his record number of Ballon d'Or awards.
The former Real Madrid man said: "At the end of the day, the best player is the one with the most Ballon d'Or awards, and Leo has eight. So for me, there's a certain gap between him and Cristiano."
While Messi has earned eight Ballon d'Or awards, Ronaldo has five.
2005—Di María and Messi win the U20 World Cup
— B/R Football (@brfootball) December 18, 2022
2008—Win Olympic gold (Messi assists Di María winner)
2014—Lose in the World Cup final to Germany
2021—Win the Copa América on a Di María goal
2022—Both score in the World Cup final
Together 🤗 pic.twitter.com/g77NHwBQPI
Di Maria also believes their presence in various leagues has contributed significantly to the global growth of football. He told France Football: "They continue to make people talk about them all over the world, while they are now in the United States and Saudi Arabia.
"The competition between them allowed La Liga to grow and they made everyone love football, even those who were less interested in it. With Leo, Americans are starting to rediscover football."
The debate over Messi versus Ronaldo remains one of football’s greatest debates and is one that will never be solved.