by Tim Stannard

Former Real Madrid boss, Fabio Capello, picks a side in the friendliest debate on the internet: Messi or Ronaldo

Hey, don't shoot the messenger here. 

Just a day after Sports Burst launched a friendly competition to work out who is the best between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, former Real Madrid boss Fabio Capello decides to get on the train and join in the fun.

The morning after the night before that Leo Messi answered Cristiano Ronaldo's Champions League hat-trick with two goals and two assists in a 5-1 victory over Lyon, the Italian coach said that while Ronaldo remained an "extraordinary and a champion" he was not on Messi's exalted realm.

"Messi is a genius, and nothing else," beamed Capello putting him on a par with Pele and Diego Maradona - "Ronaldo has made himself a champion, but not a genius."

Boom.

Well, that genius is going to have to be called on for another month or so, as one of Messi's Barcelona teammates will be out of action for the next month. And it's bad news Barca fans - it's not Philippe Coutinho. Instead, it's Ousmane Dembele who could miss four weeks with a muscle injury.

Find out what happens when another Sports Burst live guest is irritated so much that it threatens to fight someone in an alley when asked who is better - Messi or Ronaldo. 

Just go to our beIN SPORTS Facebook page at 12PM ET / 9AM PT. 

Coach Zizou Makes First Real Madrid Signing

Well – Coach Zizou has been busy already and seems to be getting his way. Just three days into returning to the Santiago Bernabeu and the new (again) Real Madrid coach has been able to sign his first player.

And rather than being a new goalkeeper or another attacking midfielder that simply won’t get a game the signing actually looks like being a shrewd one.

Real Madrid has announced that Portuguese center-back, Eder Militao, has been signed from Porto for $56 million after the La Liga side bought out the footballer’s clause with FC Porto. The new deal is a long one two with the footballer signing to 2025.

Drama reaches highest level as Europa League race reaches sizzle point 

Europa League time! 

And Sports Burst is trying very, very hard to take a more positive spin on the annual competition to track down and reward Europe's most middling club. 

Today sees the Last 16 second-leg stage being reached and the biggest cheeses hanging over the cliff of elimination are Arsenal, a team that is looking to overturn a 3-1 deficit to Rennes in the Emirates and Portuguese league leaders, Benfica, who are back on home soil and down 1-0 to Dinamo Zagreb. And let's not forget plucky Krasnodar that...that...no can't do this anymore. 

Instead, let's take a quick look ahead to Friday morning that will see the Champions League draw for the quarterfinals. 

Almighty wins for Barcelona and Liverpool on Wednesday see four teams from England left (Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Tottenham), one from Spain (Barcelona), an Italian team (Juventus) and a Dutch outfit (Ajax) and a Portuguese side (Porto) for good measure. 

Too little, too late for Atlanta and River Plate's slow Copa Libertadores start 

At least it was a win over a side that had not been beaten in 13...

Atlanta United manage to secure a victory under Frank de Boer with a 1-0 win over Mexican outfit Monterrey on Wednesday night. But it wasn't enough for the MLS side to overturn a 3-0 deficit and move through to the Concacaf Champions League quarterfinals. 

Sporting KC has the last chance to see an MLS side in the final-four bracket but has work to do to overturn a 2-1 loss from the first leg against CA Independiente from Panama.

Over in the Copa Libertadores, River Plate's sluggish start to its defence of the tournament continued with a goalless draw in a home clash against Palestino. This leaves the Argentinean with just two points in its group after two draws. Elsewhere, Flamengo made it two from two with 3-0 victory over LDU Quito.

The Copa Libertadores action continues tonight on beIN SPORTS and all three games are live starting with Penarol taking on San Jose at 6PM ET / 3PM PT.