'Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo?'. If I got a penny for every time I heard those names uttered in the same breath, I would probably be able to fund my own trip and ticket for the Champions League final in Cardiff this year.
If there weren't enough records shattered and jaw-dropping statistics unleashed between the two, the Portuguese goal-machine reached another mind-blowing landmark, last night. He became the first player to score 100 goals in the Champions League.
The Champions League, said to be the ultimate test for a European club, has seen great players come and go. But, for over a decade, it has been dominated by two players who, rightly, are regarded as the greatest of all time.
It was Messi who first breached Spanish striker Raul's record of 71 goals in the competition, in 2014, before he was joined by Ronaldo. The two had been neck-to-neck on goal-scoring record, until the last season, when the Madrid man stormed ahead with 16 goals against Messi's six. Ronaldo, 93; Messi 83.
Prior to the current campaign, it seemed Ronaldo would win the race to the century hands down. But the Argentine wizard cast spell after spell on opponents in the group stage to narrow the margin down to just two goals. Ronaldo had a relatively quiet group stage.
Messi then notched another one in Barcelona's historic comeback against Paris St. Germain in the round of 16, while Ronaldo went goalless in both legs against Napoli. The race was on once more. Ronaldo, 95; Messi, 94.
With Barcelona facing Juventus and Madrid taking on Bayern Munich in the quarterfinal stage, the onus was on the two men to see their sides through the giants that stood in their way.
In the first legs, Barcelona slipped, losing 0-3 in Turin, while Ronaldo netted a brace to win a precious away fixture at Munich 2-1. Ronaldo, 97; Messi, 94.
Ronaldo then ripped Bayern in shreds in the second leg to reach the triple figure mark, leaving his rival trailing once again with a mountain to climb in Barcelona's second leg. Ronaldo, 100; Messi, 94. History was made.
The two are neck-to-neck on a number of other statistical records as well, notably the number of hat-tricks. Before the start of the season, they shared the record for most trebles (five) in the competition history. Messi went two ahead on that count in the group to lead the hat-trick tally, before Ronaldo's Bayern outing brought him closer. Ronaldo, 6; Messi, 7.
With Messi taking on Juventus once again, sparks will fly. But will Buffon and company yield to the little Argentine?
The race to the 100 mark might have ended, but as history has shown us, the two men are far from done. It will not take long for Messi to join Cristiano in the 100 club, but it is definitely going to be a while before another player comes within sniffing distance of the milestone.
