'That's what separates him from Lionel Messi' - Cristiano Ronaldo hailed as the 'world's best' after 700th club goal

Cristiano Ronaldo has been hailed as "the best player in the world" after finally scoring his 700^th goal in club football.

Ronaldo, 37, has endured a frustrating season with Manchester United after losing his guaranteed starting place up front under new manager Erik ten Hag.

After scoring his 699^th club goal against Sheriff Tiraspol last month, Ronaldo had to wait for his next one – missing a number of chances to score it against Cypriot side Omonia in the Europa League on Thursday.

But he eventually reached the landmark, scoring after coming on as a first-half substitute in Sunday's 2-1 win over Everton at Goodison Park.

During the half-time interval, beIN Sports pundit Andy Gray analysed Ronaldo's remarkable scoring record, particularly for the three clubs he played for after leaving boyhood side Sporting Lisbon - Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus. 

"See that, for me, is what separates him from [Lionel] Messi," Gray said.

"When people say 'who has been the best player in the world?'

"I think that separates him from Messi, in my opinion, that he's done it [in multiple leagues].

"Three different countries, three different types of football, three different challenges – and he's risen to every one of them, on a personal level."

Ronaldo began his professional career with Sporting, scoring five goals for the Portuguese club before moving to Manchester United in 2003.

He has scored 144 goals for United over the course of his two separate spells at the club, having previously left Old Trafford for Real Madrid in 2009.

The most successful years of his career came at Madrid, with Ronaldo going on to become the club's record goalscorer – having managed an astonishing 450 goals in nine seasons in La Liga.

He later moved on to Juventus in 2018, scoring 101 goals for the Italian club, before returning to United in 2021.

Supporters of Ronaldo have always pointed to Ronaldo's ability to score in several different leagues as one reason why they view the Portuguese star as superior to his great rival Messi.

However, fans of Messi can now argue that the Argentina international has proven his quality in two different leagues, having left Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain last summer.

After a slow start to life in France, Messi has now settled in his second season at the Parc des Princes and has already scored eight goals and provided eight assists in just 13 games this term.

Who do you think is the best player on the planet? Let us know your thoughts.