Piers Morgan produces 'sheet of facts' which he claims proves Cristiano Ronaldo is the GOAT

Piers Morgan has laid out a "pretty large sheet of facts" to explain why Cristiano Ronaldo is the greatest of all time.

It's one of the most debated topics in recent memory. Who is football's GOAT?

Is it Cristiano Ronaldo, the former Manchester United and Real Madrid striker who holds the record for most club goals of all time and most international goals of all time.

Or is it Lionel Messi, the former Barcelona forward with seven Ballon d'Ors, six European golden boots and three International golden balls to his name.

The topic continues to divide fans, but journalist and TV personality Piers Morgan is adamant that Ronaldo is the greatest.

So why does he think Ronaldo is the GOAT?

"Listen, I thought Messi last night was absolutely sensational," he told talkSPORT on Wednesday following Argentina's semi-final win over Croatia.

"He's one of the greatest players to ever play the game - the debate though, is 'is he the greatest'?

"And on that I will always put up a very passionate and I think quite forensic defence of Ronaldo and why I think he deserves that title because one World Cup does not make a GOAT.

"If it did, the debate about Maradona for example, who's won the World Cup and Messi hasn't won it yet - Maradona for me is the greatest Argentinian to ever play the game, I don't think Messi even gets that GOAT title."

Morgan went on to pinpoint Messi's decision to stay in his "comfort blanket" at former club Barcelona as one of the reasons behind his decision.

"When you look at the stats for Ronaldo and Messi, it's important to remember Ronaldo is two years and four months older than Messi," he added.

"Also important to remember that unlike Messi who stayed in his Barcelona comfort blanket for 16-17 years, Ronaldo has won league titles in all different countries including the three most competitive leagues in the world.

"He's taken himself out of comfort zones - he could have stayed at Real Madrid most of his career if he wanted but he didn't want to. He's deliberately taken himself into new leagues, new battles, new challenges.

"Even coming back to Manchester United last season was a big thing for him to do whereas Messi has only ever done it for Barcelona where all round him the entire time were the world's greatest players and Ronaldo has often had to lead that line pretty much on his own.

"So I think if you look at career goals, Champions League goals - Ronaldo is way ahead. He's better in the air, he's better with both feet, albeit Messi has a left-foot wand. I can rack up a pretty large sheet of facts which I think leads you to the conclusion that not only is Ronaldo the GOAT, but that Messi is only the second-biggest GOAT from Argentina."

For years, many players and pundits have labelled Messi as the greatest. Ronaldo's former teammate Wayne Rooney declared on Tuesday that Messi was the GOAT, ten years after making the claim on Twitter.

But Morgan still isn't convinced, even after watching the Argentine rip up this winter's World Cup.

"I've been watching a lot of the Messi fanboying over the last couple of weeks and laughing. Ok he's having a good World Cup - it's the first one he's turned up to, let's be honest," he said.

"Am I wrong to say if you stay at a team like Barcelona your entire career and then go to a very easy league like the French league, are you really a better player over that time than someone who has consistently won titles in three of the most competitive leagues that there are? I'm not sure you are.

"I veer towards Ronaldo simply on this question: if it was the proverbial wet Wednesday at Stoke and you had to bring on one player to score a goal to save your life - would it be Ronaldo or would it be Messi?

"And I think most football fans might veer in that scenario to Cristiano Ronaldo, to win a game for their lives."

What are your thoughts on the debate? Messi or Ronaldo?

Let us know in the comments.