Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have been widely regarded as the best international footballers of their generation for over a decade now. The Portuguese superstar and Argentine great have dazzled fans across the footballing spectrum with their goal scoring exploits for their respective clubs and country.

The debate over who is better out of the two has often left fans divided into two factions. India's cricket captain Virat Kohli who is known to be a keen soccer enthusiast is no different and has his clear favourite among the two modern day greats. The Indian skipper rates Ronaldo a tad higher than Messi and has a reason for the same .

Kohli has often expressed his admiration for Ronaldo and his obsession with fitness, something that Kohli himself is famous for. "It's a personal preference," Kohli told the Times of India when asked if he would choose Ronaldo over Messi.

"Messi is a freak, absolute natural talent, and his ability is second to none. For me, what stands out is the ability or the will to put in the effort in every single minute of the game. Ronaldo's drive separates him from everyone else. Playing at the top level, everyone has talent, but I don't think anyone has the will that he has.

"Cristiano is the most complete player that I have seen. Whether it's the left foot, right foot, speed or dribbling skills, he's amazing," he said.

Kohli recently led India in the drawn T20I series against South Africa at home. He will next lead India in the three-Test series against South Africa starting October 2 in Visakhapatnam.