Ilkay Gundogan Says Cristiano Ronaldo Not on 'Galactico Level' of Lionel Messi

Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan has said he thinks Barcelona forward Lionel Messi is on a different level to Juventus' Cristiano Ronaldo.

Messi and Ronaldo have long been considered the best two players in the world and have set extraordinary standards in pursuit of silverware. This season, both have already been confirmed as domestic champions with their respective teams.

Speaking to DAZN (h/t Chris Burton of Goal), Gundogan said he believes Messi has the edge over his longstanding rival:

"For me he has always been on a different level to anyone else. Cristiano Ronaldo is the world class player after Messi, but for me he is not on this Galactico level of Messi.

"I don't think we'll ever get a player like him again, so we should watch him and enjoy him while he's still here. I'm a big fan."

Having won the UEFA Champions League in four of the last five seasons, Ronaldo will not get his hands on that prize at the end of this campaign, as Juventus were knocked out of the competition by Ajax in the quarter-finals.

For Messi and Barcelona, it's still up for grabs. The Blaugrana No. 10 inspired his team to a 3-0 win over Liverpool in the first leg of their semi-final showdown with Liverpool at the Camp Nou, with the second leg to be played at Anfield on Tuesday.

Messi scored on two occasions in that win, with his third goal this free-kick (U.S. only):

Prior to that masterclass, the Barcelona icon came off the bench to help the team beat Levante 1-0, scoring the winning goal and clinching the top-flight title in the process:

The last time Messi won the Ballon d'Or was in 2015, with Ronaldo picking up the prize in the two years following and Luka Modric the winner in the most recent edition. Based on his incredible campaign, the Barcelona man is surely the big favourite for the honour this year.

Not only has he scored key goals for the team at important times, Messi is at the creative hub of Barcelona's play and someone capable of controlling the tempo of games too. 

Paul Hayward of the Daily Telegraph said he thinks the forward's greatness extends beyond football:

Jonathan Northcroft of the Sunday Times also paid tribute to Messi's genius after his Liverpool brace:

While debate has raged over Messi and Ronaldo for years, as things stand the Argentina international is on a different level to the rest of the players in the world. 

With a possible Champions League final to come, as well as the Copa del Rey showpiece, Messi may yet inspire Barcelona to another treble. Thoughts will then turn to the summer for the 31-year-old, as he will seek to inspire Argentina to Copa America glory; for some, Messi needs success on the international stage to cement his legacy.