Former Juventus manager Fabio Capello hailed Cristiano Ronaldo as a champion, but refused to call him a genius.

The Portuguese scored a hat-trick to help Juventus overcome a 2-0 first-leg deficit against Atletico Madrid in the last-16 of the Champions League.

24 hours later, Lionel Messi made a meal of the Lyon defence and managed two goals and two assists to help Barcelona win 5-1.

The Italian assessed the two greats and gave his verdict. While he placed Messi alongside Diego Maradona and Pele, he refused to talk about Ronaldo in the same breath.

However, Capello did admit that the Portuguese’s winning mentality makes him a champion.

“Ronaldo’s an extraordinary footballer, but Messi is a genius,” said Capello to Sky Italy.

“There are three geniuses in football: Pele, Maradona and Messi. Period. Ronaldo is very strong as he lets you win everything, but Messi is a genius and something else.

“I faced Messi when he was 16 years old and I was amazed. He did the same things he does today but 20 years younger because he was born a genius.

“He invents things that others don’t see. Ronaldo has made himself a champion, but not a genius.”