Continuing his comprehensive assessment, Lineker made sure to highlight his deep respect forthe legendary Portuguese goalscorer, clarifying that Messi operates on an entirely different level.
He added: "I always feel bad because people have a go at me because they say, “oh, you don't like Ronaldo”. It's not that I don't like Ronaldo. I absolutely think he's an incredible footballer, but there's no argument about who is the better footballer. Anyone that understands the game will see that. But I've got so much admiration for Christiano, because he's so driven and his career has been so successful and he's scored so many goals. In many eras, he'd be the best player of his time. But the fact that he's actually putting the same breath and lots of people do make the comparison is a huge compliment to him, really, of what he's achieved. Because he hasn't got the ability that Messi has. No one has. But it's not an insult to Ronaldo to say that."