Conclusion
So we score this battle as a tie.
In some ways it would be churlish to rate one over the other as we are talking about the two best players of a generation, arguably two of the best players to have ever played the game.
What each have achieved individually puts them a real distance ahead of their peers. Perhaps the consistent level of brilliance Messrs Ronaldo and Messi have attained has in some way led to each of the players striving to continue at that sky-high level.
Each acting as an incentive, a bench-mark, for the other.