Messi and Ronaldo: Ending the Debate
Debate is indigenous to football. And Messi vs Ronaldo is still the headline act. For what it's worth, I believe it is possible to end the debate.
This is a debate about performance; about who performs better. This is not a debate about who has the greater assets. Most will agree that Ronaldo has the better raw materials to work with. He's stronger and quicker than Messi. He's fitter, more powerful, he's better in the air and he's better with his weaker foot. Ronaldo has the better tools of the two. However, imagine an ametuer artist who buys the finest paints, easel, brushes and art studio. He could not argue that he is greater than Monet or Picasso simply because he had the better tools. What matters is end product and performance.
My personal opinion is this. Let's say, for argument's sake, that on a statistical level the two are equal. They are certainly comparable. My own observations are that Ronaldo's greatness comes at a cost to his team. That something must be sacrificed in order for him to maintain his level of performance. Whereas my observations of Messi are that his greatness is for the betterment of his team. Those who play alongside Messi are better for it, whereas those who play alongside Ronaldo, at times, suffer for it.
I believe that it is possible to introduce a element of objectivity to the debate. Instead of asking "who is the greatest player around today?" let's ask the question, "who is the greatest player of all time?" The results are pretty well unanimous. Polls ranking the greatest current players flip-flop between Messi and Ronaldo for the top spot. But polls ranking the greatest player of all time often include Messi among the usual suspects while leaving Ronaldo as an also-ran. In other words, Ronaldo is in the conversation for the greatest player around today, but Messi is in the conversation for the greatest player of all time.
Let me show you a few rankings to evidence this. I've obvious left out lists that are too old to include either player, while lists like the one compiled by the Sport's Bible don't include current players. A quick internet search throws up 10 lists for the greatest of all time. Here are the results.
1. IBT (International Business Times) ranks Messi as the second best player of all time between Pele and Maradona, the two players usually crowned with this title. Ronaldo is in sixth behind Zidane and Beckenbauer who, while all time greats, are not usually touted for the top spot. The point here is not whether you totally agree with these rankings, only to show that Messi is consistently regarded in a different class of conversation.
2. Sporteology's list of the 10 greatest players of all time similarly places Messi between Pele and Maradona with Ronaldo up to fifth, again behind Zidane.
3. Total Sportek is identical to IBT in placing Messi and Ronaldo (second and sixth) with the same players between them.
4. Ranker.com switches Maradona and Pele in first and third but again places Messi second between them. In this list, Christiano isn't even the greatest Ronaldo, coming in at ninth behind his Brazilian namesake.
5. Football Pantheon produced a list in 2011. Because of this, Ronaldo (26 at the time) doesn't make the top 100 players of all time. However Messi, two years younger, comes in at number eight despite being only 24.
6. The Top Tens compiled a list a the 10 greatest players of all time, and here Christiano Ronaldo is in the conversation for top spot, coming in at number three. However, according to this rank, Messi is number one, above Pele and Maradona, again demonstrating a perceived gulf in class when the conversation revolves around all time greats.
7. In 'Footballsgreatest' blog, Ronaldo misses the top 10 while Messi sits with the elite in fifth.
8. Menxp again had Messi second and Ronaldo fifth.
9. Goldmyne Tv, similar to others, has Messi in second and Ronaldo in fifth.
10. Xtra History blog has Messi fourth and Ronaldo ninth.
Other websites gave the same story. This general rule applies: if you're talking about today's best footballer Ronaldo is in the discussion given that he is among today's elite. However, when the conversation turns to the greatest of all-time, it is Messi who is constantly discussed in the class of Pele, Cruyff and Maradona. Indeed, there are a number who place Messi as number one, such as the Telegraph and Daily Mail newspapers in their analogous pieces on the greatest ever player. In a similar vein, five out of 10 Telegraph experts pointed to Messi as the greatest player they had seen while none cited Ronaldo. Or how about the range of respected football heads like Graeme Souness, Gary Lineker, Arsene Wenger, Brazilian Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Ozzie Ardiles, Tostao, Carlos Bianchi, Paolo Maldini, Jose Chilavert, Georgi Kinkladze, Sir Alex Ferguson, Diego Simeone, Ronald Koeman, Gerry Armstrong or Johan Cruyff who all cite Messi as the greatest ever. No such list of experts exists citing Ronaldo above Pele, Maradona and Cruyff. He's simply not quite in that conversation, irrespective of where you personally rank him among today's elite.
This is a debate about performance; about who performs better. This is not a debate about who has the greater assets. Most will agree that Ronaldo has the better raw materials to work with. He's stronger and quicker than Messi. He's fitter, more powerful, he's better in the air and he's better with his weaker foot. Ronaldo has the better tools of the two. However, imagine an ametuer artist who buys the finest paints, easel, brushes and art studio. He could not argue that he is greater than Monet or Picasso simply because he had the better tools. What matters is end product and performance.
My personal opinion is this. Let's say, for argument's sake, that on a statistical level the two are equal. They are certainly comparable. My own observations are that Ronaldo's greatness comes at a cost to his team. That something must be sacrificed in order for him to maintain his level of performance. Whereas my observations of Messi are that his greatness is for the betterment of his team. Those who play alongside Messi are better for it, whereas those who play alongside Ronaldo, at times, suffer for it.
I believe that it is possible to introduce a element of objectivity to the debate. Instead of asking "who is the greatest player around today?" let's ask the question, "who is the greatest player of all time?" The results are pretty well unanimous. Polls ranking the greatest current players flip-flop between Messi and Ronaldo for the top spot. But polls ranking the greatest player of all time often include Messi among the usual suspects while leaving Ronaldo as an also-ran. In other words, Ronaldo is in the conversation for the greatest player around today, but Messi is in the conversation for the greatest player of all time.
Let me show you a few rankings to evidence this. I've obvious left out lists that are too old to include either player, while lists like the one compiled by the Sport's Bible don't include current players. A quick internet search throws up 10 lists for the greatest of all time. Here are the results.
1. IBT (International Business Times) ranks Messi as the second best player of all time between Pele and Maradona, the two players usually crowned with this title. Ronaldo is in sixth behind Zidane and Beckenbauer who, while all time greats, are not usually touted for the top spot. The point here is not whether you totally agree with these rankings, only to show that Messi is consistently regarded in a different class of conversation.
2. Sporteology's list of the 10 greatest players of all time similarly places Messi between Pele and Maradona with Ronaldo up to fifth, again behind Zidane.
3. Total Sportek is identical to IBT in placing Messi and Ronaldo (second and sixth) with the same players between them.
4. Ranker.com switches Maradona and Pele in first and third but again places Messi second between them. In this list, Christiano isn't even the greatest Ronaldo, coming in at ninth behind his Brazilian namesake.
5. Football Pantheon produced a list in 2011. Because of this, Ronaldo (26 at the time) doesn't make the top 100 players of all time. However Messi, two years younger, comes in at number eight despite being only 24.
6. The Top Tens compiled a list a the 10 greatest players of all time, and here Christiano Ronaldo is in the conversation for top spot, coming in at number three. However, according to this rank, Messi is number one, above Pele and Maradona, again demonstrating a perceived gulf in class when the conversation revolves around all time greats.
7. In 'Footballsgreatest' blog, Ronaldo misses the top 10 while Messi sits with the elite in fifth.
8. Menxp again had Messi second and Ronaldo fifth.
9. Goldmyne Tv, similar to others, has Messi in second and Ronaldo in fifth.
10. Xtra History blog has Messi fourth and Ronaldo ninth.
Other websites gave the same story. This general rule applies: if you're talking about today's best footballer Ronaldo is in the discussion given that he is among today's elite. However, when the conversation turns to the greatest of all-time, it is Messi who is constantly discussed in the class of Pele, Cruyff and Maradona. Indeed, there are a number who place Messi as number one, such as the Telegraph and Daily Mail newspapers in their analogous pieces on the greatest ever player. In a similar vein, five out of 10 Telegraph experts pointed to Messi as the greatest player they had seen while none cited Ronaldo. Or how about the range of respected football heads like Graeme Souness, Gary Lineker, Arsene Wenger, Brazilian Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Ozzie Ardiles, Tostao, Carlos Bianchi, Paolo Maldini, Jose Chilavert, Georgi Kinkladze, Sir Alex Ferguson, Diego Simeone, Ronald Koeman, Gerry Armstrong or Johan Cruyff who all cite Messi as the greatest ever. No such list of experts exists citing Ronaldo above Pele, Maradona and Cruyff. He's simply not quite in that conversation, irrespective of where you personally rank him among today's elite.
So next time you witness a great goal and hear the commentator say "Messi would have been proud of that one" or "if that were Messi they'd be talking about it for weeks" simply ask yourself: why is Messi the standard-bearer for footballing greatness? The answer is self-evident.
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