Messi beats Ronaldo to GOAT status after data analysis, says Liverpool FC’s research director

Lionel Messi ‘does two jobs brilliantly’, said Dr Ian Graham, outgoing director of research at Liverpool FC, whereas ‘Ronaldo does one’. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

The rivalry between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo has riveted football pundits and primary schoolchildren alike, fuelling endless debates over who is the greatest player of modern times – or ever.

The forwards are almost neck and neck on goals scored, Ballon d’Or and Golden Shoe awards, but according to Dr Ian Graham, the outgoing director of research at Liverpool FC, a deeper look at the data reveals a clearcut winner.