The debate over football's greatest-ever player has raged for decades, with Pele, Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo all holding a genuine case.

Ronaldo has never been shy about where he stands on the matter, and back in 2017, fresh off the back of his fifth Ballon d’Or, he made his feelings clear in typical Cristiano fashion.

Maradona, who sadly passed away three years later in 2020, wasn't about to let Ronaldo's statement slide, and his response will go down as one of the great put-downs in football history.

With the host of records and achievements Messi has gone on to claim since, the whole debate looks rather different these days, and arguably points to a very different conclusion than the one Ronaldo was pushing back then.

Ronaldo Crowned Himself the Best Ever

After collecting his fifth Ballon d'Or in 2017, Ronaldo left no room for interpretation when discussing his own legacy. Speaking to France Football via Goal, he said:

"I'm the best player in history, in the good moments and the bad ones.”

“I’ve never seen anyone better than me. I have always thought that. No footballer can do the things I can. There’s no player more complete than me. I play well with both feet, I’m quick, powerful, good with the head, I score goals, I make assists. There are guys who prefer Neymar or Messi. But I tell you: there’s no-one more complete than me."

It was classic Ronaldo, supremely confident and unwilling to entertain any rival claims to the throne, a stance he still holds today.

Maradona's Brutal Reply, and Messi's Case Since

Maradona, who has a claim of his own when it comes to being the greatest of all-time, wasn't having any of it when AS asked him about Ronaldo's comments shortly after. Upon learning that Ronaldo considered himself the greatest of all time, Maradona simply replied:

"Tell him to stop taking the p***."

When pushed about where Ronaldo’s claim leaves Maradona, he doubled down, near-enough repeating the same line: "That’s why I said stop taking the p***." Watch the clip below:

He did soften slightly as the interview went on, calling Ronaldo "marvellous" and praising his reliability whenever his team needed him most, comparing that quality to the great Johan Cruyff.

Nearly a decade on, Messi has done more than anyone to settle the argument, winning the World Cup with Argentina in 2022 and adding an eighth Ballon d'Or to his tally the following year, extending his own record and possibly ending all reasonable debate.