Lionel Messi vs. Cristiano Ronaldo: Who'll Rule in La Liga Next Season?

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo form one the greatest rivalries and sub-plots in world football today.  The enigma's of their respective sides, scorers of simply obscene goals and record breakers to boot.  Since Ronaldo swapped Manchester for Madrid in 2009 the footballing world have been obsessed with comparing the two.

It's human nature.

Who is the best goal scorer? Who should win the next Ballon d'or? And so on and so forth.

The Portuguese hit-man secured his first La Liga title last term, with Jose Mourinho stealing the edge on his old employers who have welcomed Tito Vilanova into the managerial helm after Pep Guardiola stepped aside.

Of the two biggest sides in football today though, who will steal the show in La Liga next season?

Stats

Let's start by establishing the story of the last three seasons, which culminated in the Barcelona Monopoly being broken as their bitter rivals became the first team to ever break the 100-point barrier.

The Argentine so far winning the La Liga title battle 2-1 though.

In terms of goals and assists it is also Messi that comes out on top, outscoring Ronaldo 115-112 since the 2009/10 season and assisting 43 goals compared to 29.

Last season alone the pair both broke the all time La Liga scoring record, a phenomenal achievement in itself.  But it was again the Barcelona man who outscored his Real Madrid counterpart 50 to 46, securing the Pichichi Trophy, and got more assists with 15 against 12, in one game less.

Verdict

Many attributes between the pair are remarkably similar, but there are of course some crucial differences.

Ronaldo is undoubtedly the more physical player and has more strength and tricks, but while Messi concedes fewer tricks his tremendous ball control is cut above anyone worldwide.  In addition he is far more robust under the challenge, has a better temperament and is a much better team player.

Ronaldo is the machine and Messi is the magician, essential cogs from which their sides revolve.

Crucially though. it is the Argentine that exerts more influence, in more games for longer, and herein lies the decision.

Inter Milan's Managerial Merry Go Round Continues

Massimo Moratti has continued to live up to his cutthroat reputation by sacking Claudio Ranieri, a day after declaring he would be in the post until the end of season following a 2-0 defeat to Juventus.

The Inter Milan president has now dismissed two managers this term, after Gian Piero Gasperini was dismissed in September after a poor start to the season.

It at first looked like Ranieri had turned the San Siro sides fortunes around, dragging the club up the table and away from the relegation spots, but with Internazionale languishing ten points off third place Lazio, the final Champions League spot, the club have acted.

Conflicting Statements

Following the weekend defeat, Moratti stated early on Monday:  "I think that Claudio Ranieri will remain until the end of the season."

With a statement following later in the day, after the sacking, on the club's website that read:  "President Massimo Moratti and everyone at Inter Milan would like to thank Claudio Ranieri and his staff for their professionalism, dedication and honesty during their time in charge of the team."

Inter, and crucially Moratti, are desperately trying to get the club back to the glory years of it's not too distant past under first Roberto Mancini and then Jose Mourinho.

Ex Inter manager Ranieri

Stability and patience though are clearly not options to be considered.

However, if you think two managers in a season is a bad record you will have to look back to the 1998/99 season, when they last failed to make Europe and four men sat at the helm during the season.

Luigi Simoni, Mircea Lucescu, Luciano Castellini and finally Roy Hodgson all came and went in a humbling period for the club.

Future

Andre Villas Boas is reportedly the early front runner for the post, but until a successor is appointed youth team coach Andrea Stramaccioni will take over:  "Inter also announce that they have entrusted the team to Andrea Stramaccioni, the coach who won the first edition of the Next Generation Series," continues the statement issued by the club.

Whoever does come in on a full time basis will have to contend with Seria As highest wage bill, at a staggering €200m a year, and you would think a major overhaul of the squad is also a high priority.

Firepower has been lacking somewhat since the sale of Samuel Eto'o last summer to Anzhi Makhachkala, while top earner Wesley Sneijder has not hit his usual spectacular highs.

A shrewd appointment is needed; if it doesn't arrive the fans may not blame the manager and could look further up the pecking order.

Transfer flops: Helder Postiga

When a highly rated young striker heads to the Premier League from the continent, it is always a hugely exciting time for which ever side the prodigy chooses. That was exactly the case at Tottenham Hotspur in 2003, when Glen Hoddle brought an exciting Portuguese 21-year-old to White Hart Lane.

That man was of course Helder Postiga, the fleet footed exciting goal getter who arrived from Jose Mourinho's FC Porto for £6.25m. So what next for a young man who was tipped to reach the highest echelons of the football world? Surely a tremendous season in which he captured the imagination of fans worldwide?

Well it didn't exactly go to plan. A season that very much fell below the required standard was followed by a swift return to his native Portugal. After a solitary disappointing Premier League goal, FC Porto returned and rescued Postiga from his English nightmare with Pedro Mendes heading in the opposite direction.

This misguided attempt to conquer England seemed to have a big impact on the front man, and after four seasons back at Porto two loan switched followed. Saint Etienne was first up, quickly followed by a short stint in Greece with Panathinaikos. Sporting Clube de Portugal is where Postiga currently plies his trade, but how different a career this could've been had he been patient while in Portugal and not been so hasty to move on. Such a shame for a man who has an impressive record at international level, scoring 15 goals in 40 games for Portugal.

Let's get ready to rumble

So, at it's new Saturday evening slot, the battle of the Bernabeu will take place.

Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan V Louis Van Gaal's Bayern Munich, with both sides looking to claim an unprecedented treble.

Both have had troubled times in their respective leagues this season, but have crucially come through to take the ultimate prize.

Domestic cup competitions have also fell the way of this years two premier Champions League teams, meaning this evening could be one of the most exciting European finals for many a year.

You would expect a fully attacking match, although, you could be majorly disappointed.

In this years competition Mourinho has been criticised for sitting on leads, and doing just enough to get over the line.

But never going out to score as many goals as possible, however you couldn't bet against the Portuguese to come up trumps once again.

And if he does so he could soon be bidding a, not so fond, farewell to Italy.

It is not a secret that the Italians and Mourinho don't enjoy the best of relationships, and a treble win could be his legacy in Serie A.

Bayern on the other hand have always gone out to score this season, and as a result have been left short at the back on occasion.

This is exactly the type of thing that will not have gone unnoticed by the Milan side, and if this situation crops up tonight it will be fully exploited.

Wesley Sneijder's passing could unlock most defences, and with men short at the back it wouldn't be hard to pick out the pacey Samuel Eto'o.

Although the German's aren't short of attacking talent themselves, however they will be without main man Franck Ribery who is suspended.

That means Arjen Robben will have to step into the breach and be the creative force for his side, which we have already seen him do this season.

His wonder striker at both Fiorentina and Manchester United rescued his team, whereas Mourinho's side have often looked comfortable.

Even at Stamford Bridge and the Nou Camp where one goal would've knocked them out, they didn't look like conceding (although they come close in the latter, when a goal was disallowed for a dubious hand ball).

One thing is for certain though, someone will win a treble tonight and become a legend at their respective club, and I wouldn't bet against Mourinho adding another chapter to an already amazing story.