Former Chelsea and England player Joe Cole believes that Lionel Messi 'put to bed' the debate about the best player of the generation by winning the World Cup with Argentina, claiming that Cristiano Ronaldo is now a tier below the Paris Saint-Germain player.
Ronaldo, 38, did not start a knockout round tie for Portugal during the tournament, as they exited during the quarter-finals. The player had already left Manchester United before the competition in Qatar began, and returned to the Middle East soon afterwards and signed for Saudi Arabia-based side Al-Nassr as a free agent.
Messi remains a starter upfront for PSG and played the full 90 minutes of their Champions League defeat against Bayern Munich in midweek. Before that round of 16 tie, the panel of BT Sport pundits discussed the GOAT (greatest of all-time) debate.
