Rio Ferdinand: Messi is an artist but Ronaldo is a machine.

Messi or Ronaldo? It’s a debate which has caused many an argument between football fans across the globe and will continue to rage long after the two giants of the game have retired.

Far from picking one of the two, former Man United defender Rio Ferdinand decided to explain the differences he sees between Messi and Ronaldo.

Ferdinand described Lionel Messi as a genius and an artist and the former Leeds man also called ex-teammate Ronaldo a machine. Speaking to the England U16 squad, Ferdinand claimed that Ronaldo had to work to get to the supernatural level he’s at now.

"Ronaldo is like a driven, well-oiled machine, who has made himself that superstar.

"He came to the club as a good player, as a talented player. You think he was what he is today? He wasn't. He has worked.

"He didn't have a great shot when he came. He had a powerful shot but it went everywhere,” he revealed.

"He used to go out after - he was embarrassed - pick up a bag of balls, walk around to another pitch right over the other side [of the training field] so he could hide behind the trees.

"'Ronnie, where are you going man?'

"'I'm just going over there.'

"After a few months you'd see. 'Where's Ronnie going? He's doing shooting, he does stepovers.' He used to put these mad things on his feet, these weights, and do mad stepovers.

"I used to think 'Are you mad? What are you doing?' Until he started bamboozling people.”

Messi on the other hand, seems to have been born with phenomenal talent despite his small stature, according to Ferdinand.

"Messi seems like he's more natural. It’s just been given to him. Someone looked down and said 'You're the man'. And he went out there and did it, and he's just a beautiful footballer.

"The best way to describe it is Messi is like a genius. He shouldn't be that good.

"He's small. If you're going to build a footballer you're going to build Ronaldo, so Messi is working from a disadvantage straight away, and he's doing ridiculous things. He's like an artist, he's just a genius.

Ferdinand expressed his delight at being able to witness the two in action as they smash records week in week out.

"There's two different players, but the respect for both of them is huge. I just think it's great that we're in this time where we can appreciate these two ridiculous footballers putting up numbers that noone has ever even seen."