Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart has revealed that he rates Lionel Messi over Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Messi vs Ronaldo debate has dominated discussions among football fans from all around the world for the last few years but it seems simply impossible to put up an argument to definitively prove to everyone that one player is better than the other.

Hart has waded into the debate regarding the rivalry between the Argentine ace and the Portuguese maestro, and has stated his belief that his allegiances lie in Barcelona rather than Real Madrid.

Hart said on the 'The Clare Balding Show' on BT Sport: "It's more the way he just dominates the game and it's hard because every single team that plays against him will have a specific plan about Lionel Messi and every single game he scores two or three goals.

"So I think it's just the fact that he can adapt and he changes for different situations. People probably try and get up tight against him, even hurt him – that doesn't work so then they back off and see what he's going to do and that doesn't work and then you're stuck 50-50 and he's free to do as he pleases.

"I think there is a very high standard out there but I think Messi is the best player in the world. Cristiano Ronaldo is absolutely fantastic, what he's done throughout the years and probably in another generation maybe he'd nick that title, but from personal experience, he's the best."