It’s been one of the great debates of world football for the best part of a decade. Ronaldo or Messi – who is the best? The pendulum has swung countless times and every time we think we have the answer, something remarkable happens to make us change our mind.
But could now be the time to finally put the argument to rest. Every footballer wants to play in a World Cup. Some, if born in the right country, might even have genuine hopes of winning one. But whether players represent a powerhouse like Spain or Brazil or a minnow such as Algeria or Australia, all of them crave desperately to shine on football’s biggest stage.
Before we go any further with that, let’s take a look at the careers so far of these two great footballers – Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo and Argentinian maestro Lionel Messi. We’ll start with the French Ballon d’Or award for world player of the year, which each player has won once. When it became the FIFA Ballon d’Or award in 2010, Messi proceeded to win it three years in a row but Ronaldo hit back to win it in early 2014.
Both players have won the European Golden Shoe award as the top scorer in Europe three times. In January this year, Ronaldo scored his 400th career goal – following on from becoming the first player to score 40 goals in Europe two years in a row. In 2011-12, Messi set a new record for most goals scored in a European season with 73 in all competitions.
As for titles? Ronaldo won the FA Cup with Manchester United in 2004 and three EPL titles before moving to Real Madrid where he has won one La Liga crown, the Copa del Rey twice and his first Champions League title just a few months ago.
Messi has won La Liga six times, the Copa del Rey twice and the Champions League three times as well as an Olympic gold medal in 2008. Both players captain their respective countries with Ronald’s 49 goals the most ever for Portugal. Messi sits second with 40 goals for Argentina behind Gabriel Batistuta.
And so the pair headed to Brazil with two World Cup goals apiece and dreams of finally making their presence felt on football’s ultimate stage. This was their time to shine – to take the reins of their nation’s fate and lead them to glory. And to this point that’s exactly what Messi has done. Having scored a cracking goal in their opening 2-1 win over Bosnia-Herzogovina, he added an absolute scorcher in the final seconds as Argentina beat Iran 1-0 to secure their progression to the next round.
Ronaldo has struggled to have the same impact and hasn’t scored a goal in his two games … but don’t write him off just yet. Trailing the USA 2-1 deep into added time at the weekend and needing at least a draw to stay alive, Ronaldo delivered a pinpoint cross for Silvestre Varela to score a remarkable last-minute goal.
Which leaves us with this verdict – as it stands Messi is edging ahead, but as usual in this absorbing battle there always seems to be a twist just around the corner. We can’t wait to see it.
