What if: Cristiano Ronaldo never left Manchester United

The icing on the cake as Ronaldo scores Real Madrid’s fourth goal on a historic night in Lisbon

#2 Messi and Ronaldo’s rivalry would not have reached such great heights

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND - JANUARY 11: FIFA Ballon d'Or nominees Lionel Messi of Argentina and FC Barcelona (L) and Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal and Real Madrid (R) attend a press conference prior to the FIFA Ballon d'Or Gala 2015 at the Kongresshaus on January 11, 2016 in Zurich, Switzerland. (Photo by Philipp Schmidli/Getty Images) — No player apart from Messi and Ronaldo has won the Ballon d'Or since 2008

Pundits and fans of the sport have always said that we are blessed to watch two of the greatest players in the history of the sport play together. It is often said that Lionel Messi’s greatness pushes Cristiano Ronaldo to greater heights and vice-versa. And stats do not lie.

After Messi’s four consecutive Ballon d’Or wins, Cristiano Ronaldo won two with tremendous dedication and hard work. Watch his rival win the Ballon d’Or, Lionel Messi’s performance went up a notch in 2015 as he won the Ballon d’Or that season.

It is true that one player’s greatness is inspiring the other to do better. Had Cristiano stayed at Manchester United, two of the greatest players of this generation would not go face to face as often.

Both players break the 30 goal landmark season after season in the La League while it is debatable whether it would have been the case for Cristiano had he stayed at Manchester.

Edited by Staff Editor