'The Pope is right - Ronaldo is God': Piers Morgan takes sides in football's GOAT debate

Celebrity provocateur Piers Morgan has given his typically sarcastic response to Pope Francis' comments that Lionel Messi is in fact not God, by agreeing that he isn't, instead saying that title belongs to rival Cristiano Ronaldo.

On Monday, Pope Francis was reported in Spanish-language media as proclaiming that to refer to Argentine football icon Messi - regularly touted as the best to ever play the game - as 'God' was technically "sacrilege", and that he believed the phrase should in fact be altered to include clear references to his immense footballing ability being 'godlike'.

The pontiff said of his compatriot: “People can say he is God, just as they may say ‘I adore you' but only God can be worshiped. Those are expressions from people. ‘This is a God with the ball on the field' is a popular way for someone to express themselves.”

“Of course, he is very good, but he isn't God,” he added about one of only a couple of men perhaps more famous than 'Papa Francisco' in the South American nation, the other being another footballer in Diego Maradona.

Former newspaper editor, television presenter and avid football fan Piers, who is an ardent supporter of Premier League team Arsenal, was unsurprisingly quick to add his double-edged input, claiming he sided with the Pope - partially.

"He’s right - Cristiano [Ronaldo] is God," Morgan wrote on Twitter, stoking the never-ending debate on which of the pair should be considered the greatest footballer of all time. Given his penchant for controversy, this almost certainly was no April Fool's joke.

Later the same day, Morgan again got in touch with his spiritual side to troll Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur with a picture of the Premier League table showing Arsenal's leapfrogging in the league table of their North London rivals courtesy of a 2-0 victory over Newcastle.

Although Ronaldo and Messi no longer contest La Liga matches between Barcelona and Real Madrid, the two are still gunning for Champions League glory this season; Messi will lead Barca against Manchester United, whereas Ronaldo will face Ajax with new side Juventus in the tournament's quarterfinal stages first legs with both games to be played on April 10.