"Ronaldo and Messi will never reach my goal tally"

In quotes picked up by 'TMW', the former Barcelona star said: "When it comes to goals I will outscore the pair of them. I scored more than twice what they will manage.

"In the box, I'm still better than both of them," said the 51-year-old, before he finally acknowledge the pair's undoubted quality.

"They both have different qualities to those that I had and today they are without doubt the best in the world," he explained. "Along with Neymar," he added, eager to praise his fellow countryman.

Though Romario ended by insisting once again that he is the best goal-getter of the group, saying: "They have won lots of trophies, but I can safely say that, despite their Ballon d'Ors, in the box..."

Romario claims to have scored over 1,000 goals during his career, though the majority of those came in the Brazilian league.