Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo: Who's the World's Best?

The two biggest names in football at the moment have got to be Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. They’ve got all that an attacking player requires, blistering pace, skill, ability to pass. So long story short, these are super human footballers who can do whatever they want with a football. Now that we’ve been through an 18 day El Clasico marathon in which the world’s best two crossed swords, the world’s football fanatics had the best chance to observe the two players up close, compare them and settle the long standing debate debate on who the better footballer is.

This World is not big enough for both of us !

This La Liga season has been truly amazing with both of these players playing mesmerising football and crossing all boundaries. They have been scoring goals and tearing defences apart for fun. World class defenders fail to throw even a tackle at them when they are in their element. Its just a treat to watch both of them play. But the reason I wrote the article is that I believe one player has got a slight edge over the other.

So before starting the main part I want you guys to remember one thing, if I say during the article that this guy is better in this department, that doesn’t mean the other guy is much behind. Its just relatively he is not as good because both are superstars in their own right.

I’d also like to stay that I’ve been following the La Liga and UCL pretty closely this season so I know what I’m saying/writing.

So lets go-

1) Dribbling-

Messi is the best dribbler around, no question and there is no one who takes the ball and beats the defenders so easily as he does. Though Ronaldo has got so many tricks in his bag and befuddles the defenders many a times, you’ll so many times see him being tackled, defenders so easily putting an end to his runs while it’s hard to put a tackle at all on Messi when he is running with the ball. Its not just his pace , its his sublime skill and technique on the ball and his balance that give him the edge and superior to Ronaldo. You must have seen the second goal of the 1^st leg of the UCL S/F, that was sublime and truly out of this world. Both of them roundabout have the same pace but the sheer skill Messi has is unbeatable.

Messi- 10/10Ronaldo- 9/10

2) Passing-

Both these players are playing the role of marksmen this season so their game is a lot more concentrated on scoring than setting up others to do so (but still somehow, Messi manages to do both). But what I have to give to Ronaldo this season is that he is gradually losing his selfish streak. You can see when he plays that he wants his team to do well; he tries to set up opportunities (which was not the case at Old Trafford) but Messi has had that ability for quite a long time, the way he threads the through balls through the defences to set up people is just amazing. If you go by stats Messi has had 20 assists and Ronaldo just 8, but I guess that does not show the full picture and the way Ronaldo has improved. So for passing, Messi has the obvious edge.

Messi- 10/10Ronaldo- 8/10

3) Free Kicks-This is Ronaldo’s area, totally. The way he goes about his free kicks is amazing. His blend of power and swing is perfect here. Its a treat to watch him strike the ball so viciously near the corner posts. Messi is capable of executing perfect curls for goals but again is more about finesse than brute force. He’s good but just lacks the variety and power that Ronaldo has.

Messi- 8/10Ronaldo-10/10

4) Heading Ability-

This is a department in which both are not the best guys around but you can easily give Ronaldo this one, because he is not afraid of getting hurt while going for it and scores many goals with his head while Messi gets almost all his goals by his gifted left foot and rarely scores a header.

Messi- 6.5/10

Ronaldo- 8/10

5) Ball Control-

No questions, Messi is a true champion here. As Wenger once rightly said- “He’s just like a Playstation player”, and for sure he is. Many a times it appears as if the ball is glued to his feet, just a pure magician that little fella’. Ronaldo too is not far behind but lacks somewhat in the sense that he tries to do too many tricks sometimes while Messi is outright in his approach.

Messi- 10/10Ronaldo 9/10

6) Shooting Skills-

As far as shooting is concerned, both the players follow a totally different policy. While Messi opts for brains over brawn, Ronaldo opts for brute force. But here Ronaldo lacks in the sense that sometimes he doesn’t see his unmarked team-mates and rather shoots himself, that too from ridiculous angles and distances. Though Messi scores less long distance goals, that doesn’t mean he can’t do that. Those who say he hasn’t got the power are totally out of their minds because Messi too has unleashed some thunderbolts this season. Ronaldo most of the times opts for sheer power while Messi lobs it, curls it, dinks it and can strike a powerful one too. The composure in front of goal that Messi has is unmatchable, never has a player been so calm in front of goal as Messi. Perfectly accurate that little guy is. (Messi did a rainbow over a goalkeeper this season, this guy is crazy) And statistically too Messi is ahead with goals right now, but Ronaldo certainly can shoot better from distances.

Messi- 10/10Ronaldo- 10/10

7) Team Play-Though Ronaldo is improving here a lot these days, the tag on his head will hardly ever disappear.He is, after all, guilty of not passing the ball and trying to take the shot himself on when other players are totally unmarked and open. Messi is again a champion here, the way he has formed a trio with Xavi and Iniesta over the years is truly amazing. Here Ronaldo is more of a one man show while Messi along with individual play is a champion on uplifting the performance of the team as a whole.

Messi- 10/10Ronaldo- 7/10 (7 too seem a bit too much for him here but he’s improving as I said)

8) Skill and Technique-

Both have brilliant skill and technique but I and many others think alike that Ronaldo’s game is a lot more about showboating and show off. On his day when he can totally rip part defences with his tricks, on an off day his tricks would be totally all over the place and all the stopovers and 360s seem pointless as defenders seem to get the better of him. As I said, Messi has a totally different technique and also that the ball many a times seems glued to his feet. He has a much more consistent and stable technique, his ball control is the best ever and you will hardly ever see a successful tackle at him while he takes those magical runs of his. It always has been said about Ronaldo that he’s more about style than substance which to an extent is true.

Messi- 10/10Ronaldo- 9.5/10

9) Physical Presence-While Ronaldo’s body is a specimen of a perfect well oiled machine, Messi is a small man and sometimes gets knocked off the ball by huge defenders but then, Messi is very good in a one on one situation and sometimes conceding a foul becomes compulsory for a player to get him off the ball. Ronaldo here is a true winner; he can hold the ball away from the defender easily and almost bullies the defenders. You look at Ronaldo’s body and it seems this guy does 500 push ups and 1000 sit ups a day. His physical presence on the field is second to none.

Messi- 8/10Ronaldo- 10/10

10) The Extra Ability-

Now this is an extra point to Ronaldo, for the sheer brilliance he has shown by coping up with The La Liga and Spanish football so easily. He has the expectations of more than a million Madrid fans on his shoulders and he satisfies them most of the times too. He has adjusted well in the Madrid line-up and is doing extremely well. His form is totally unaffected by the fact that he changed his club, he has been able to do what Kaka and Benzema failed to. Not that one club player’s brilliance can be questioned because of this. Legends like Giggs, Gerrard, Del Piero and Totti have been one club men and are the best in the game. Even Pele was a one club man and this takes nothing away from Messi. Still an additional point to Ronaldo for this achievement.

Ronaldo- +1

Conclusion-

The sheer influence that Messi has on a match is incredible. Messi has been the big game performer for quite a few years now, and though many people will raise their eye-brows here but Ronaldo has certainly failed to do well in big games. His goals are mostly against the smaller clubs and on the bigger occasions Messi is the man to look up to.So all in all this has been a very close fight and the final results are as follows-

Messi- 82.5/90

Ronaldo- 81.5/90

The one thing I totally forgot about Ronaldo is his diving, he is a total whiner when it comes to that. Even a slight touch makes Ronaldo act as if he has just broken his leg. Messi hardly ever dives and prefers to get on with the game. Ronaldo is a total cry baby in this area.

Some people tell me that Ronaldo has better skills and technique, to them I reply that you are misinterpreting the concept of technique. Better trickery doesn’t make you more skillful or a better technician, its the control and balance that matter. If trickery was a measure then Robinho would have been the best at that.

And then there is the shooting part, now here its a matter of opinion. I rate accuracy and finesse better unlike some people who players unleashing brutal shots and going for the kill. Messi is a magician as far as finishing is concerned, if the ball falls to him in the box or near it a goal is almost certain.