It is the fierce debate that has polarised modern football fans: who is the better player, Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo? 

WATCH Real Madrid v Barcelona LIVE and EXCLUSIVELY on beIN SPORTS

The latest in a storied canon of sporting rivalries channels, fairly or not, narratives of good versus evil as fans are called into an examination of their own character as they settle on their preferred protagonist.

In one corner sits the diminutive Argentinian, the 'good guy' who's prodigious talent is matched only by his humility - bizarre recent sleeve tattoo notwithstanding. In the other sits Ronaldo, the brash - some may say arrogant - Portuguese, whose confidence-drenched play has yielded some sublime highlight reels and a goals tally to rival the world's best players. 

Indeed, this rivalry has an 'eternal' feel to it reminiscent of football's other great match-up: Maradona versus Pele. 

Even the sport's, albeit disgraced, former president Sepp Blatter has weighed in, tactlessly plonking himself squarely in the Messi camp during an Oxford university address in 2013. 

Now, on the eve of the weekend's 230th competitive El Clasico, the number-crunching football boffins at beIN SPORTS have uncovered the amazing stats that settle the debate once and for all in Messi's favour. 

Granted, Messi is facing a race to be fit for the match, although reports out of Spain suggest he will be ready to play.

Since 2009-2010 - Ronaldo's first season at Real Madrid - the 30 year-old has scored a gasp-inhaling 233 goals from 211 matches. Impressive stuff. But when you consider that in the same time-frame Messi has played 212 matches for 235 goals, it puts the achievement into context.

In most key statistics within that period, Messi has his rival's measure. For assists, the Argentinian has 87 to Ronaldo's 67. Ronaldo takes more shots per game on average, with seven to Messi's five, but the latter boasts a 65 per cent shooting accuracy to Ronaldo's 54 per cent. 

Messi racks up a goal every 76 minutes to Ronaldo's 78 minutes - not a huge difference, but the 28 year-old attacker sets one up every 205 minutes to Ronaldo's 270 minutes.

We've all seen what Messi can do to the world's best defenders when he decides to dribble the ball... 

Fans have been treated to the spectacle 986 times over the past five seasons. Ronaldo, a renowned finisher, has only embarked on 431 dribbles within the same time period. 

Former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola used Messi to pioneer the revolutionary 'false nine' role during a trophy-laden stint at the helm of the Catalan club from 2008-2012, basically handing the Argentinian a licence to roam across the forward line in Barca's 4-1-4-1 formation. Since Ronaldo first donned the Merengue strip, Messi has completed 6618 passes in the final third to Ronaldo's 3978. Despite almost doubling Ronaldo's passing tally, Messi, staggeringly, still trumps him for accuracy, completing 77 per cent of his passes to Ronaldo's 73 per cent. 

Messi also racks up 80 touches per game to Ronaldo's 58. 

Barca has been accused of having an over-reliance on Messi, but with numbers like these you can't blame it for choosing to drive the Ferrari in a garage full of Toyotas.

Ronaldo, for his part, has a better penalty success rate, converting an incredible 90.4 per cent of his penalties to Messi's comparatively lean 86.1 per cent. 

Ronaldo's prowess in the air makes him more of a threat at set pieces, having rifled in 36 goals off his noggin to Messi's 11. 

When it comes to kicking them in, it's another close one, Messi  scoring 184 with his preferred left foot and 40 with his right. Ronaldo has scored 159 from his preferred right foot and 40 from his left. 

While these incredible numbers suggest Messi is the more complete player, both footballers overwhelmingly deserve to be considered among the greatest players ever. Perhaps unfairly, character traits are used by fans in an effort to define which man they prefer and with such evenly-matched numbers, it's no wonder this is a rivalry that has captivated the football world. 

Aiding its cause are the two men's vastly different personalities and apparent dislike of each other, though neither will admit that publicly. 

No matter what happens on Sunday, if Messi is passed fit to play, chances are good either he or Ronaldo will decide the match in his team's favour.   

Statistics supplied by Opta