Lionel Messi v Cristiano Ronaldo: Who is the greatest this week?

Messi: He is so good, Barcelona don’t even need him to score. Of course, it helps when he does - as he did in the 4-0 win over Real Sociedad - but with Neymar and Luis Suarez ahead of him he can leave the finishing touch to someone else. You could say he’s delegating, often choosing to be the provider than the goalscorer this season. After involving himself in every Barcelona goal on Saturday he was presented with a tap-in just minutes from full-time, but his real contribution had come well before that.

Ronaldo: The record will show that Ronaldo found the net in Real Madrid’s 2-0 win over Eibar, becoming the third top goalscorer in La Liga history. But those who actually watched the game will tell a very different story - one of pained expressions, flappy arms and whinging aimed at nobody in particular (let’s just assume it’s always at Gareth Bale). He got his goal from the penalty spot, but Ronaldo - and Rafa Benitez - will surely be concerned by the performance that came before it.

Messi: When Messi suffered a knee injury in late September, ruling him out for eight weeks, Barcelona were expected to struggle. They were already threadbare in attack, and so the October and November period was widely predicted to be an exercise in damage limitation for Luis Enrique’s side. Upon his return eulogies would be written about how Barca missed their number 10 and spiritual leader - except, they haven’t.

Sure, Barcelona are obviously a better team with Messi involved, but they coped just fine without the Argentine (perhaps with the exception of the defeat to Sevilla). Against Real Sociedad though, Messi looked back to his best - given something of a free role between midfield and attack. Under Enrique that is seemingly where he is most dangerous, tallying assists just as prolifically as he does with goals. Because he wasn’t productive enough before.

Ronaldo: When FIFA put together Ronaldo’s highlight reel for the year, to be shown at the Ballon d’Or award ceremony in January, they probably won’t take much from this game. They certainly won’t take the failed overhead kick, or the faceplant whilst attempting a step-over, or the umpteenth free-kick he smashed straight into the wall, or the clear shot on goal he managed to plant in the side netting, or the general look of exasperated bewilderment on his face throughout. Probably should have held off on the superhero celebration when you did finally score, Ronnie. Looked a bit silly.

Messi: Barcelona are the closest thing football has to the Harlem Globetrotters at the moment. Messi is laying up alley-oops, Neymar is slam dunking and Suarez’s toothy grin is just as cheesy as any American showman’s. Strike action almost saw this season’s Liga campaign postponed before it even began – and they might as well just call it off now. The trophy is Barcelona’s and we might as well go home.

Ronaldo: At this moment - just a week after a crushing Clasico defeat - what is more important for Real Madrid: result or performance? Against Barcelona they got neither, but at least Benitez got the result at Eibar - even if their performance was severely lacking. Real Madrid are still a team without an effective midfield unit, with Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic and Toni Kroos all failing to impose themselves on little ol’ Eibar. Benitez is essentially using Real Madrid in the same way everyone uses them in FIFA… everyone up front. Midfielders only get in the way.

Messi: Not often does the front page of Marca depict a gushing tribute to anything over than Real Madrid, but on Monday morning it hailed Barcelona’s ‘MSN’ - setting a historic challenge for the trio. They believe that Messi, Neymar and Suarez could finish the season as La Liga’s top three scorers - with no one club providing a season’s top three scorers since the division’s founding in 1928. Everyone - even the Madrid press - is revelling in Barca’s brilliance.

Ronaldo: There was one positive taken from Real Madrid’s insipid performance in the Basque - Bale. “Blast-off for Bale,” read one headline, contrasting the Welshman’s display with that of Ronaldo. Not even his inclusion on the Ballon d’Or three-man shortlist will change the tone of the Madrid press’ angle - only goals will do that. And Ronaldo is struggling for those in open play, just as much as he’s struggling to choose between an escape route to either PSG or Man Utd.

Messi: Enrique went for a cycle on Sunday to relax after the win over Real Sociedad. Neymar spent some quality time with his son playing on an iPad, with Suarez also winding down with his young family. It’s not known what Messi did, but I’m going to assume he had a lazy Sunday lounging in his Grumpy pyjamas. Maybe he’ll wear them to the Ballon d’Or ceremony this year?

Ronaldo: Zoolander 2 is coming out and Ronaldo has heard that Justin Bieber makes a cameo appearance. Never mind the Ballon d’Or, the Real Madrid winger has a new target - he wants to star alongside Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson too. That can be the only explanation for the pose he threw in the picture posted to his Instagram on Sunday evening - showing Real Madrid on the flight back to the capital. Blue, or rather Los Blancos, steel.

So for the next seven days Messi is once again the greatest footballer on earth – and he might soon have the big golden ball to prove it.