The longstandingdispute over who isbetter betweenLionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo may finally be over aftera Spanish study worked out thatMessi as the fourth best La Liga player of all time, whileRonaldo didn't even make the top 20.
The list, compiled bySpanish football research centre (CIHEFE), is worked out by examining a number of stats includingminutes played, goals, goals conceded, red cards among others.
And somewhat surprisingly, despite being the all-time top goalscorer in La Liga with 393 goals in 353 appearances Lionel Messi doesn't even make the top-three.
Real Madrid legend Raul Gonzalez tops the list, and deservedly so after he received five back-to-back awards for being La Liga's best Spanish player between 1997 and 2002.
Behind him islegendary Barcelona forward Cesar Rodriguez, who rose to fame in the40s, while prolific goalscorerTelmo Zarra makes up the third spot.
Ni Messi ni Cristiano... Raúl, el mejor de la historia de #LaLiga según un estudio de @cihefe https://t.co/UMjpMoDlym pic.twitter.com/D0YIJ8Haz6
Ronaldo, who has scored 261 goals in 240 La Liga games, is placed disappointingly in23rd, and considering how badly he reacted to being substituted a few weeks ago, he's unlikely to take this snippet of news well at all.
Perhaps what's more surprising that Ronaldo's low rating is that of Barcelona legend Xavi Hernandez, who shockingly is only 49th on the list despite making 767 appearances for Barca over 17 trophy-filled seasons.