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.
“It’s Messi,” Graham told an audience at the Cheltenham Science Festival this week.
The Argentine and Portuguese strikers are the only two in history to have…
