Manchester City star Ilkay Gundogan picks between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi

The Manchester City star chose between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi

Ilkay Gundogan gave his verdict on the long-standing Cristiano Ronaldo-Lionel Messi debate.

Any conversation about the best player in the world invariably ends up circling around these players, who're often touted as two of the greatest players of all-time.

The debate is arguably the most fiercely contested in football's history, with many players and coaches themselves weighing in on it with their opinions.

Recently, the Manchester City star also had to field a question about the 'big two'.

In a Twitter Q&A with his followers with the hashtag AskIlkay, one account asked him to pick one of these players on the basis of who he thinks is the best.

The German joked about the question being asked often but proceeded to pick Messi over Ronaldo. He wrote:

"Is it possible to go through a Twitter Q&A without this question? I still go for Messi..."

Ronaldo and Messi's is a long-standing rivalry, with both players having a section of fans who believe one is better than the other.

Is it possible to go through a Twitter Q&A without this question?😅I still go for Messi ... 🤷🏻‍♂️ twitter.com/Zipayne92/stat…

Both players have accomplished a lot in their illustrious careers and continue to rule the roost even in their mid-30s.

Gundogan leaves out Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo from his choice of the 3 best players in football right now

Lewandowski seems to have reached the goalscoring levels of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo

However, when the 31-year-old was asked about the three best players in the world based on their current form, he opted to leave both Ronaldo and Messi out.

Instead, the German went with Bayern Munich ace Robert Lewandowski, Liverpool's Mohamed Salah and Real Madrid hero Karim Benzema.

Lewy 🇵🇱, Salah 🇪🇬, Benzema 🇫🇷 twitter.com/DeBruyne_Role/…

All three players have been in electric form this season and are leading the goalscoring charts in their respective leagues too.

Gundogan was also asked to choose between his club team-mate Kevin De Bruyne and former Germany team-mate Mesut Ozil.

He chose the Belgian when it came to long balls, crossing and goalscoring ability, but felt Ozil was better when it came to vision, technique and passing.

However, Gundogan also acknowledged that both these players are "the two best playmakers the Premier League has ever seen."

Gundogan himself has been in fine form this season. He may not boast the statistics of any of the aforesaid players, but the German has been a crucial player for Manchester City

He's struck five times and made four assists from 22 games in all competitions this season despite only being a midfielder.

They are among the highest figures in the squad as Gundogan has looked very confident in front of goal and stepped up in the big games for his side.