Who is the greatest: Messi or Ronaldo?

Note: Before you think this is article is written by someone biased in favour of any of the players, note that this is written by an Arsenal fan. I have no reason to like both these players as Messi has consistently knocked Arsenal out of the Champions League in 2010 and 2011, while Ronaldo has prevented Arsenal from a second Champions League final in 2009 and an FA Cup final in 2004.

9 times out of 10, when someone is asked, “who is the best footballer on the planet?”, they will answer with Lionel “Leo” Messi. Making his rise from Barcelona‘s reputed La Masia academy, Messi has come a long way in being one of the greatest players to ever play the beautiful game. Dubbed by Maradona himself, as his successor, Messi has won 5 La Liga trophies, 5 Spanish Supercups, 1 Copa Del Rey, 2 UEFA Supercups, 1 FIFA Club World Cup, and most impressively, 3 Champions League trophies along with a myriad amount of individual accolades. After reading that you must be questioning, “What is the point of this article!? He’s won all those trophies and individual awards and he’s only 24, how is he not the best?!” Well, I will tell you why.

Messi, though his exploits with Barcelona and his own personal feats are impressive, he has failed to transfer his electric form to the international stage, only scoring 17 goals in 60 caps, 10 of which, have been in friendlies. He failed to score a goal in the 2010 World

Lionel Messi

Cup as well as the 2011 Copa America, both of which, Argentina got knocked out. The main reason for this, as expressed by public opinion is that Messi doesn’t get the same service as he does for Barcelona. Is that a good reason? Would the best player in the world need two players in Xavi and Iniesta in order to play well? Also, wouldn’t the best player in the world be able to replicate his form on the international stage in order to be called the best? Sure, his record for Barcelona is brilliant – 121 goals in 179 league games, but surely he must be able to perform without the likes of Barcelona’s deadly midfield duo.

Now, enter 26 year old, Cristiano Ronaldo – a Champions League winner, 3 time Premier League winner, 2 time Carling Cup winner, a Community Shield winner, an FA Cup winner, a FIFA Club World Cup winner and now, a Copa Del Rey winner. Also achieving various individuals award, Ronaldo truly reached the top of the world in 2008, arguably the best player at that time, winning the Champions League with Man United. Fast forward to 2011, and he’s still in electric form for Madrid, recently breaking the record for most goals scored in a season in La Liga. This is a player who has scored 70 goals in 65 league matches for Madrid in only two year’s time! As for the international stage, Ronaldo has scored 29 goals in 83 caps for Portugal, but one thing to note is that he started off as a winger only and he puts in consistent performances for Portugal.

So we’ve pointed out that Messi should only be called the best player in the world, if he can perform without Xavi and Iniesta, both domestically and at international level for Argentina, but what about Ronaldo? He can perform no matter who’s on the pitch, as we’ve seen with both Man United and Real Madrid with the different array of players fielded. He performs well for Portugal, and has been scoring goals for fun for Madrid since his arrival in 2009.

One thing in common between the two however, is that they can’t officially be called the greatest players ever or the best in the world unless they’ve won a World Cup.

Nonetheless, let’s compare the two:

• Average League Goals -

Messi (121/179) = 0.68 per game

However, since it’s not fair to use his career league goals as he was just coming to prominence, we’ll use his league goals under Guardiola – 102 official games, 90 goals – (90/102) = 0.88 per game

Ronaldo (70/65) = 1.07 per game

Ronaldo has no problem delivering performances for Portugal

• Average Goals For Club -

Ronaldo for Madrid – 91 goals in 93 games – (91/93) = 0.98 per game for Madrid

Messi under Guardiola – 144 goals in 163 games – (144/163) = 0.88 per game for Barcelona

• Preferred Foot –

Ronaldo can play with both feet which makes him a threat all over the attack being able to interchange positions swiftly whereas Messi can only play with his left.

• Castrol Football Index -

No contest. Lionel Messi is ranked 1 in the Castrol EDGE Rankings, way ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo who’s ranked 3 – as stated by the website.

• Adaptability -

Messi is only accomplished in La Liga, whereas Ronaldo has made a name for himself, putting in consistent performances in the Premier League as well as La Liga.

• Long Range -

As many have criticized, Messi has scored majority of his goals, inside the penalty area where as Ronaldo can shoot from distance as well as being deadly from the deadball situation.

• Tantrums -

Though Ronaldo aces this category, it’s not really one to be proud of. Ronaldo can be easily frustrated and can throw a tantrum if things don’t go his way, whereas Messi keeps a cool mind, rarely putting up an argument, even when he is tackled.

• Flair and Dribbling

This has to go as a tie – though showboating Ronaldo will have more silky moves and tricks up his sleeve, you can’t disregard Messi for his awesome dribbling skills, most probably the best in the world at that, which makes it a herculean task for a defender to steal the ball from him.

• Playmaking

Messi reigns supreme in this category over Ronaldo – while Ronaldo will provide quite a few assists occasionally, the fact that he’s generally more selfish undermines his true assist making skill, whereas Messi, has great vision and can provide for Villa and Pedro, if he isn’t in a good position. Though his stats don’t translate this, with 78 assists in 297 games for Barcelona, it must be noted that most of his assists have come of the last three years.

• Pace

This would also go as a tie – though Ronaldo has more raw pace and uses it throughout the game, Messi uses his pace in small bursts to evade defenders; both are extremely quick.

• Big Game -

Messi always outperforms Ronaldo when it comes to the El Classico duels

Ronaldo hasn’t performed on the big occasions, most notably against Barcelona in the Champions League final for United in 2009 and all the following La Liga matches since his arrival at Madrid, whereas Messi has flourished in each and every El Classico duel.

• Aerial Ability -

Ronaldo aces this category, providing a huge aerial threat, scoring many important goals whereas Messi hasn’t scored many with his head, though one of his rare, famous goals came against Man United in the Champions League final – another big game performance.

• Strength -

While many would think Ronaldo would hold the advantage in this category, I’d give it to Messi, as he can hold off players and can stay on his feet with all the challenges headed his way, which is amazing for a player of his stature, while Ronaldo has been known, to go to ground easily.

The Bottom Line

Based on these stats and points, it’s really tough to decide who can be judged as the better player, if judged, would mean they’d be the best in the world – After reading this article, you should be able to make your own opinion but there is no doubt that as of now, these two players are the current best in the world, both possessing flair, skill, raw talent and a knack for scoring goals. Who is better? That is a question which one, can only have an opinionated answer for.

Note: All stats are as of the article date.