Gary Lineker and Piers Morgan are embroiled in a Twitter spat over what seems to be an age-old debate which continues to split football fans all over the world.
Lionel Messi lit up Argentina's fixture against Australia on Saturday night as he led his side to the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Qatar. Regarded by many as the greatest footballer in history, Messi is aiming to win football's biggest prize for the first time at the age of 35.
Another man vying to do the same is Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, except he's two years older at 37. Many expect this tournament to be the last chance for both to win a World Cup and Messi in particular has been heaped with praise for his performances so far, which have seen him score three times in four games.
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On Saturday night BBC pundits were again quick to wax lyrical about the Argentine number 10, but the performance - and the punditry - didn't impress Piers Morgan. He tweeted: "The relentless Messi fan-girling by the whole BBC punditry team is getting excruciatingly obsequious. Getting worried one of them might have an ‘accident’ in the studio. Calm yourselves, lads. He had a good game against an average side. See how he does against a good team."
Gary Lineker, who was hosting the BBC's coverage of the Argentina v Australia clash, couldn't resist a dig back at Morgan as he tweeted: "Good to see you emerge briefly from deep inside the bowels of Ronaldo to express your opinion."
This was in reference to Morgan's much-publicised friendship with Ronaldo. He has repeatedly stated his opinion that the Portuguese is the better of the two players, and broadcast an exclusive interview last month where Ronaldo heavily criticised Manchester United, something which led to his contract being terminated and leaving the forward without a club.
He too has netted at this World Cup, and in doing so he became the first man to score at five different World Cups - in 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022. Portugal play Switzerland on Tuesday night for a place in the quarter-finals, where they would meet either Spain or Morocco. Given that Argentina and Portugal are on separate sides of the draw, it remains possible that Ronaldo and Messi could square off in a World Cup final in what could be their final appearances in international football.
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