Listen to the full interview via the Off The Ball Football Show podcast.

Aside from his goal record, Cristiano Ronaldo's second Ballon D'Or win inevitably leads to questions about his place among the all-time great players.

It is a debate Lionel Messi has been a part of for quite some time.

Tonight we spoke to football writers Gabriele Marcotti and James Lawton to get their take on Ronaldo when compared to the Peles and Maradonas.

"I think those two men, in their different ways, epitomized playing football in a way that Ronaldo and Messi are very close to doing. But I don't think they've quite had the ultimate test yet. They've been magnificent in what they've had to do. In the fullness of time, they might be serious contenders for the Top 5 but as of now, I think Pele and Maradona are still up there on their own," said Lawton on the comparisons with Pele and Maradona.

Lawton added that both Ronaldo and Messi might well have a standout defining moment to come in their careers.

"We haven't seen the full sense of achievement that perhaps Iniesta had when he scored the winning goal for Spain in South Africa. That was the sort of mark of a career - something that you just can't question. This might sound ungracious but I'd still put Messi and Ronaldo in the middle ranks of the greatest players of all-time. But still they're relatively young."

Marcotti believes the World Cup matter but less so nowadays.

"In the past, you were measuring yourself against the world's best in a World Cup setting and taking on players, you'd never faced before. Now, these guys play against the very best in the Champions League. When they go to the World Cup, they play a bunch of guys they've played before. If they continue at the rate they're going - and longevity does matter - I think they'll be right where Maradona and Pele are."