Antonio Cassano has joined the age-old debate about Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

According to Diario AS, Cassano, who retired in 2017, labelled Ronaldo “a manufactured talent” and asserted that Messi is someone “we’ll never see again” likening him to figures like Roger Federer, Michael Jordan and Diego Maradona.

The former Real Madrid star said: “Cristiano Ronaldo is a manufactured talent.

“You notice it on social networks where you see him doing sit-ups with his children. There’s so much talk about him, less about Messi, but in football they are two completely different things. CR7 is very strong, but he’s built his talent.

“Messi, on the other hand, is Federer, Jordan, Maradona. He’s something we’ll never see again in life, he has immense talent that’s a gift from nature. I often hear that Messi played with phenomena at Barcelona. I remember Xavi and [Andres] Iniesta, and, in the beginning, Ronaldinho. But Messi also made players like Pedro, Dani Alves, [Javi] Mascherano and others champions.”

“He made many players grow with his talent. Ronaldo’s goal is to score goals, he doesn’t give a damn about the team or contributing assists. Messi, on the other hand, makes the whole team grow and he’s my idol.”