Messi V Ronaldo- The Saga Continues

Of all the debates over the years about who is the greatest player of all time, perhaps none have endured for as long or created so much divided opinion than those two young whipper snappers, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

La Liga’s finest currently stand head and shoulders above all others in the footballing hemisphere and only a handful of fellow pros even come remotely anywhere near when it comes to pure entertainment and match winning prowess.

Let’s look at the facts based just on this calendar year so far alone.

Messi has notched a total of 76 goals for both Barcelona and Argentina which puts the diminutive Argentine just 9 strikes shy of Bayern Munich & Germany legend Gerd Muller.

Ronaldo, not to be outdone of course, has netted 54 times for Real Madrid and Portugal.    

However, in spite of the difference in terms of goals scored, can this really be a basis on which to judge who is the finer player of the two?

Even then, there is also the small matter of how many trophies each has won with their respective sides.

If we are to look at it on that context Messi would win hands down having amassed an astonishing 21 career honours for both club and country all at the tender age of 25, compared to 12 for Ronaldo who is now just beginning to reach his peak at 27.

But for the departure of the Portuguese winger from Manchester United in 2009, it’s quite possible that the Red Devils and Ronaldo himself would maybe have notched up another one or two Champions league titles and further domestic honours had he stayed at Old Trafford.

His influence on the club was such that many firmly believe, including Sir Alex Ferguson himself that this would have been without question.

Therefore, will Ronaldo’s decision to leave United when having yet to reach his peak be one that he regrets when his playing days are over despite now playing for the club he always wanted to join since childhood?

For me though, the one overall deciding factor that marks out the better player of these two footballing gods is not how many goals either player has scored, or how great any of these goals were, or even who has the best celebrity girlfriend.

It’s the pure and simple fact that one of them has performed to the same outstanding level in two different leagues which perform two very different styles of football.

Until the other of the two does this, which I can’t honestly see ever happening during his career, then my vote will always be the same.

And before you ask…no, he’s not Argentinian….

Ryan Colley

Comments

[nick]

Pele, generally regarded as the greatest footballer, prior to the Messi era, has never played club football in Europe. In fact, he has played his ENTIRE career in one recognised league. So to make light work of this completely farcical article that must have been composed by a footballing neophyte, let's skip to reality. A better education of what professionals, experts and learned personnels of this beautiful game regard as being great would go a long way in saving us from reading or composing such asinine articles. The most successful coaches in the EPL, who have had a first-hand sighting of Cristiano over the years, as well as Messi mainly via Champions League encounters, have overtly identified Messi as the superior player....just ask Wenger or even Sir Alex who, as much as he would love to proclaim Cristiano as the better of the two given their relationship and his influence in the player's career, has not been able to proclaim such, to this day. Or ask the multitude of La Liga coaches who have seen them first-hand and listen to their informed response. In fact Google it!!! Then when you're done educating yourself, hear what the players of the EPL and Liga, including the ones who played week in-week out with Cristiano have to say......just ask Rooney, Tevez etc etc. Then when your're done, find out what the past greats of the game have to say about their professional assessment of the two. The great Brazilian Ronaldo, though professing his preference for Real Madrid over Barcelona, makes no qualms as to who is the best player in the world in his esteemed assessment. Other legends including Pele, Maradonna, Cruyff, Muller etc etc etc all regard Messi as the better of the two, maybe even the greatest of all time, while in the same breath likening Cristiano to the Beakham category. Yet this delusional writer feeds us this garbage about playing in different leagues. Messi has not only destroyed the best EPL teams, but has done so while leading his team to European titles. He has also out-shined and outclassed Cristiano every year since the latter's Liga switch, hence his three ballon d'ors......and soon his record fourth........as well as his goal scoring records in both La Liga and the esteemed Champions League. Messi simply has more technical ability than Cristiano and more importantly, he has a better footballing brain. Take speed away from both players' games and see what you're left with......Cristiano would score half as many goals, while Messi would arguably be the world's greatest playmaker. To cut a long story shorter, once Messi breaks the greatest record of them all by smashing Muller's tally for most goals in a year, and wins his fourth consecutive ballon (he is, after all, four times better than Cristiano) this farcical debate would be done and dusted. Soon there would be no records left for Messi to break. The World Cup would be the icing on the cake!! Eat your heart out!!!

[nick]

Pele, generally regarded as one of the two greatest footballers, has never played club football in Europe. In fact, he has spent his ENTIRE career playing in ONE recognised league. So the logic driving this article, even from the outset, appears to be irrational at the least. Now let's closely examine the rationale of this debate. Many learned professionals, analysts and experts of this beautiful game have been so kind as to enlighten us with their esteemed assessments in an attempt to discern which of the two can lay claim to being the better footballer, and hence the best of this generation. From the most successful coaches in the EPL and Liga, who would have observed and assessed the two first-hand, to the players themselves, some of whom can boast of having played alongside or against the two, there has been the profound view that Messi is the superior footballer, and to some of these experts he is regarded as the greatest of all time. Take Souness for example, the ex-Liverpool boss, and winner of three European Cups during his playing days with Liverpool. Souness played with and against a host of world-class players during his stellar career, including Messi's compatriot and former Al Wasl boss Diego Maradona. He says,
"I played against Maradona... [but] he's nowhere near Messi,", pointing to Messi's four-goal demolition job of Arsenal back in 2010 as one of the finest individual performances ever. And this theme reverberates around the football playing populace. From the Brazilian phenomenon Ronaldo, to legends of eras past, including Pele, Maradonna, Cruyff, Muller etc etc, as well as highly esteemed coaches and current players alike, the large majority regard Messi as the better of the two. After all, one doesn't win three consecutive ballon d'ors without the majority of the footballing experts having their say. And guess what, Messi is the favorite yet again, according to the bookies and most pundits, to claim a record fourth consecutive ballon. So surely all these experts, pundits, historians and philosophers alike have discovered something that the writer of the above article is yet to decipher. Maybe after Messi breaks another record, this time arguably the greatest record of them all, the world record for number of goals in a year for club and country, would this writer see the light. Your emphasis on Cristiano having excelled in two different leagues has been trivialised and outrightly dismissed by the experts, many of whom have themselves played for multiple leagues. The general view is that it is better to be the best in one league than second best in two. Cristiano was indeed the best player of the 2007-08 season, but since then, the previously injury-prone Messi, two years Cristiano's minor mind you, has dominated the world and left Cristiano second-best on all accounts. He has won a multitude of trophies, broken countless records and continues to set the benchmark for ALL footballers. He also incredibly continues to exponentially improve his game, let's not forget he's still only 25 years old. Messi is also among the best play-makers in the world today, if not the best. And at the moment his free-kick conversion rate is second to none. So really, who are we to argue with the experts, those who not only witness the sport and the players day-in and out, but who have studied the sport and players alike. Surely, they are the ones best placed to make such assessments. So please, while we would all like to throw in our two-cents, lets leave this debate for the experts to decipher. At the end of the day, while Messi's unique dynamism, footballing intuition and profound talent gets etched in our minds, it is the records that are documented in history, and the reality is, soon there would be no records left for Messi to break!

[Sean]

I've gotta go to the jobcentre now......