Messi Or Ronaldo?

[Dave]

Who do you prefer? Or, rather, who is the better football player?

Personally, I've always liked Ronaldo. And equally, I've never really like Messi. Don't get me wrong, I think both players are absolutely brilliant football players but, honestly, I've always thought that Christiano Ronaldo was the more complete player.

If both men were compared in each of their attributes, I firmly believe that Christiano Ronaldo would come out better. Maybe he is not as technically good as Messi but has the strength, pace and personality that Messi lacks.

Discuss.

 

[MCMG]

I've always preferred Ronaldo. A few years ago, when Messi was breaking all the records, I could maybe have understood the argument of Messi being better than Ronaldo but not now. For a while; I think Messi was merely more consistent than Ronaldo and maybe more ruthless/focused. Ronaldo at his best, in my opinion, is way better than Messi at his best for but for a long time Messi would reach that level more often. Hence him scoring 90 goals in a season or whatever.

Now, Ronaldo is doing it each week with the consistency that Messi showed. He is an absolute monster and, for me, is clearly the better footballer. There is also the fact he scores even when he is not at his best which is another trait Messi showed. When Ronaldo turns up there is just no stopping him and he has been doing that more regularly. He dragged Portugal to the World Cup but was injured during it. He basically stopped the initial rise of Cheslea by himself when he was at United before conquering all records at Madrid.

 

[L@RISANO]

I've always preferred Ronaldo. A few years ago, when Messi was breaking all the records, I could maybe have understood the argument of Messi being better than Ronaldo but not now. For a while; I think Messi was merely more consistent than Ronaldo and maybe more ruthless/focused. Ronaldo at his best, in my opinion, is way better than Messi at his best for but for a long time Messi would reach that level more often. Hence him scoring 90 goals in a season or whatever.

Now, Ronaldo is doing it each week with the consistency that Messi showed. He is an absolute monster and, for me, is clearly the better footballer. There is also the fact he scores even when he is not at his best which is another trait Messi showed. When Ronaldo turns up there is just no stopping him and he has been doing that more regularly. He dragged Portugal to the World Cup but was injured during it. He basically stopped the initial rise of Cheslea by himself when he was at United before conquering all records at Madrid.

Lol, not really interested in the Messi-CR argument anymore as it is never ending with both sides not willing to budge on their own formed opinion, but...

that statement there seems to be thrown around regularly....

Didn't Portugal fail to qualify directly for the World Cup, and Ronaldo then managed to have a good couple of games vs Sweden? Where in that situation did he 'drag' Portugal to the World Cup when they couldn't even qualify directly for the tournament anyways.

To besides, he flopped at the World Cup in the matches he played, the injury crap was just a veil to mask his failings since his team won the UCL. His overall World Cup record itself is laughable, to say the least.... and it's not like his teammates are much inferior to Messi's at NT level at all anyways...

*stats have changed since this was originally posted ​

 

[Alastor]

They are both great players. We used to argue whether it is better to be a great goalscorer or a scorer of great goals. These two threw obliterated that idea by doing both.

If I were to start a team from scratch, I would take Ronaldo first. He is really the complete forward that can hold the ball, win aerial battles and shoot with power and precision. He can be great in lousy or good teams by his sheer physical attributes. Messi seems like a player that needs players that understand his vision of what football should be to see his best qualities. Pedro made a career out of doing this.

But Messi is the player that combined sheer efficiency in production with artistry that made us fans of the game. I am not saying Ronaldo doesn't produce moments of magic, just saying Messi produces stuff with his vision and dribbling that seems out of a videogame. When Ronaldo tries to be a playmaker the results are often mixed because it just isn't in his personality while Messi has proven to be great at both roles over the years.

Can't choose either to be better than the other to be honest. Let's just say it is ridiculous that a down year for either of them is scoring almost a goal a game. (Messi last season or Ronaldo the season before that)

 

[Richard Blonoff]

I've always preferred Messi to Ronaldo. I think a lot of it is media influence, here in the US Messi is typically painted as a humble hard worker who keeps his head down and doesn't attract a lot of attention, while Ronaldo is a player who is all about flash and glam, as well as being a notorious flopper. For whatever reason, American soccer(sorry) fans really looks down on flopping. We also look down on a lot of the bigger personalities as well. A couple years ago Man City played a friendly against the LA Galaxy and Balotelli tried to score off a back heel, and he got booed out of the stadium. Maybe its because we haven't fully embraced the sport, but our sports media usually paints Ronaldo as a bad guy.

 

[L@RISANO]

I've always preferred Messi to Ronaldo. I think a lot of it is media influence, here in the US Messi is typically painted as a humble hard worker who keeps his head down and doesn't attract a lot of attention, while Ronaldo is a player who is all about flash and glam, as well as being a notorious flopper. For whatever reason, American soccer(sorry) fans really looks down on flopping. We also look down on a lot of the bigger personalities as well. A couple years ago Man City played a friendly against the LA Galaxy and Balotelli tried to score off a back heel, and he got booed out of the stadium. Maybe its because we haven't fully embraced the sport, but our sports media usually paints Ronaldo as a bad guy.

Interesting comment there.


Really eye opening, and it basically confirms how much the media has influenced this rivalry and continues to do such until this day.


Personally, as a Barca and Argie fan, I've always been following Messi since his time in the U-20s, and thus, have always regarded him as the better player of the 2 because his ability doesn't just stop at scoring goals, but always has been at his ability to affect the games as a playmaker also.

I always laugh at the notion of the "complete" player which was mainly brought up by EPL fans during CRs time at ManUtd. I find such a term vague as it could mean quite a number of things...I guess most just use it in terms of physical ability(again, the Prem emphasizes that mostly).


All that said;
I have learned to appreciate both players and how much they have contributed due to their awesome individual abilities and their rivarly since 08 till now has been brilliant and I doubt we'll ever see such again in our lifetimes....Their goal-scoring abilities have been unreal such that an injury-hit Messi was criticised for scoring "ONLY" around 40 goals last season! When I was younger, scoring 30 was an achievement for a forward, and these 2 have totally obliterated that as they have looked to outdo each other every season.



Now, tho, with Messi looking more as a no.10, I guess he and his advisors have decided to lengthen his career by moving further back and doing more playmaking with Suarez and Neymar now in the team...whilst Ronaldo will continue to do his normal role and get more goals and scoring chances...

The rivalry has now changed starting this season, a new Chapter in Messi v CR begun....

Stay Tuned.

 

[future admin]

To be honest, whilst both players are unbelievable, Ronaldo comes off as the less mature of the two. I say this because of multiple incidents of Ronaldo either crying or hitting out at teammates/referees.

Now, I understand that this is a juvenile basis to judge a player on, and also, regardless of the slight immaturity he is still an incredible footballer, having a player like Messi, a player who is unlikely to hit out at team mates/get overly emotional is better for a team's dynamic and structure.

A winning mentality is always a good attribute, but when the mentality overtakes the emotions players start to go missing in games. This I feel was Ronaldo's problem at the World Cup, where by his standards, he under performed in a relatively weak Portugal team, I feel as though he took it upon himself to carry Portugal, ending up trying to do too much and producing too little.

Now this post may come across as a stab at Ronaldo, but the figure of Messi being a player who rarely hits out and throws tantrums is a player I'd rather have playing for my team, considering ability wise these players are by far the two best in the world today.

 

[CyberPunk]

This topic, or similar topics, always fascinate me. Who is better? Both CR and Messi have achieved so much in so little time, they can be called legends already. When it comes to LaLiga, the El Clasico is more of a battle between these two than the teams. However, both Messi and Ronaldo can be termed as underwhelming on International stage. While Messi kind of made amends last world cup, Ronaldo's performances in World Cups or International football haven't been anywhere close to a player of his caliber.

These two play similar brand of football though I always though Ronaldo is more flashy while Messi is more creative. As much as I like club football, International football would always be a level above in my eyes. There club football careers have been amazing, so based on their International careers, I'd rate Messi higher (again, nothing against CR, it's just how I feel).

 

[Alastor]

The media portrayal of Messi and Ronaldo sure shaped the causal fan's perception of them. Messi is just an egomaniac in footballing terms as Ronaldo if you go by Ibrahimovic's account of his Barca run. But I think it is to be expected, the best players always had a certain level of ego.

International football is not a level above anymore. The best players compete in the European Champions League. International football might seem more prestigious but that is only because it has a smaller window of opportunity to win something since major tournaments are held every few years instead of every year like club football. A player might only have 2-3 chance to participate in a World Cup in his playing career while he can compete for club honours more than 10 times through out his career. Born in the wrong cycle or getting injured could cost a player a chance to make his mark in international football.

The regional cups really are not held in high regard except the European Cup and Copa America where the traditional powerhouse compete in.

 

[Rusty]

They're both amazing players that will be remembered decades from now, though I must admit I've always been a Ronaldo fan.

Yeah, he's egotistical and takes all the attention from everyone else, but let me ask you this, if you had what Ronaldo does, the money, the fame, the amazing soccer abilities, the good looks, and the name, wouldn't you be up yourself? I know I would. He deserves to be called the greatest player currently because he worked his ass off to become a better player Messi, make no mistake it is not due to Messi's slight drop in form over the past 2 years or so.

Take nothing away from Messi though, in a team full of ridiculously talented strikers he always manages to stand out. Maradona comparisons are always made and it's unfair that Messi gets criticised based on his international record/form.

If you asked me this question 2 years ago I would say Messi, despite my man crush on Ronaldo. The past 2 seasons though have shown why Ronaldo, for me, is the more complete player. That game he played for Portugal against Sweden in the world cup qualifier was the most amazing football game I've witnessed live on television in my whole life. My heart was racing and I don't even support Portugal, he just played that freakin' good.

Plus c'mon, the guy is only following 12 people on Instagram. Only he could get away with that.

 

[Kodo Sawaki]

Cristiano.

As much as media tried to present Messi as some "down to earth guy" who is really really good at football in last few yeras didnt see so much of him being that better then anyone else, especially Cristiano. First few years it was Cristiano and then Messi was better, now he is sometimes laughable. Take World Cup for example of that. In group stage he did good and managed to take Argentina from really weak group ahead. As soon as tougher games starter he was nowhere to be seen. And yet somehow, he ended up World Cup no1 player which is laughable to me. Give it to Miller, his team won Championship after all and he did pretty good overall. heck, give it to freakin Garay, he was so flawless sometimes at defence that opponents couldnt get near goal and even gave Kramer concusion that he remembers even now so he scores own goals from 50 metres away. But no, they gave it to Messi, just because he needed that award to complete colection. Good work Fifa, good work. Have nothing against the guy, he is great sometimes. Just dont think he deserves that much praise as much Fifa and others give to him sometimes.

Ronaldo overall is better last few years. More consistent and more goals overall and last year he was all time goalscorer of Champions League with 17 goals. No mather how much media puts him as egotistical prick he always goes at field and delivers good. Right now, he is better and more consistent then Messi. Time will tell if that will continue but now he is better.

Will be interesting to see about overall goals at Championship League. Messi has 71(as much as Raul had) and Ronaldo 70. Think Messi plays first so he has more chances to beat record but it will be constant chase from game to game to see who will be legendary and come out at the end as winner of that.

 

[Dave]

Cristiano.

As much as media tried to present Messi as some "down to earth guy" who is really really good at football in last few yeras didnt see so much of him being that better then anyone else, especially Cristiano. First few years it was Cristiano and then Messi was better, now he is sometimes laughable. Take World Cup for example of that. In group stage he did good and managed to take Argentina from really weak group ahead. As soon as tougher games starter he was nowhere to be seen. And yet somehow, he ended up World Cup no1 player which is laughable to me. Give it to Miller, his team won Championship after all and he did pretty good overall. heck, give it to freakin Garay, he was so flawless sometimes at defence that opponents couldnt get near goal and even gave Kramer concusion that he remembers even now so he scores own goals from 50 metres away. But no, they gave it to Messi, just because he needed that award to complete colection. Good work Fifa, good work. Have nothing against the guy, he is great sometimes. Just dont think he deserves that much praise as much Fifa and others give to him sometimes.

Ronaldo overall is better last few years. More consistent and more goals overall and last year he was all time goalscorer of Champions League with 17 goals. No mather how much media puts him as egotistical prick he always goes at field and delivers good. Right now, he is better and more consistent then Messi. Time will tell if that will continue but now he is better.

Will be interesting to see about overall goals at Championship League. Messi has 71(as much as Raul had) and Ronaldo 70. Think Messi plays first so he has more chances to beat record but it will be constant chase from game to game to see who will be legendary and come out at the end as winner of that.

Yeah, I have to agree with you; Messi goes missing all too often against teams when it really matters. I also think that his efforts at the World Cup were way below par. But maybe that is more to do with the fact that he was amongst a team that, realistically, never really stood a chance of winning. I am a Celtic fan and we have been drawn against Barcelona quite a few time in recent seasons. Honestly, Messi has never really posed a threat to a mediocre team like Celtic when he absolutely should. I honestly feel as though he can be put off a game when he is pressured and physicality is imposed upon him.

I also have to agree with you when you say that he is not a good guy. I think that he's a bit of a cunt, honestly. The whole tax avoidance thing that came out earlier in the year really put me off him in a new way. I always thought Ronaldo was the better player but perhaps was too full of himself. But when you're making £50 million a year and don't pay tax, you really are the scum of the Earth. Selfishness is a horrible quality in a person.

 

[Alastor]

Yeah, I have to agree with you; Messi goes missing all too often against teams when it really matters. I also think that his efforts at the World Cup were way below par. But maybe that is more to do with the fact that he was amongst a team that, realistically, never really stood a chance of winning. I am a Celtic fan and we have been drawn against Barcelona quite a few time in recent seasons. Honestly, Messi has never really posed a threat to a mediocre team like Celtic when he absolutely should. I honestly feel as though he can be put off a game when he is pressured and physicality is imposed upon him.

I also have to agree with you when you say that he is not a good guy. I think that he's a bit of a cunt, honestly. The whole tax avoidance thing that came out earlier in the year really put me off him in a new way. I always thought Ronaldo was the better player but perhaps was too full of himself. But when you're making £50 million a year and don't pay tax, you really are the scum of the Earth. Selfishness is a horrible quality in a person.

I think there is a certain bias against Messi from the British. It is like Messi didn't play in the EPL and prove himself week in and week out in the bestest best league in the world so he will always be seen as inferior compared to Ronaldo who proved it on a rainy sunday evening at Stoke City before. Same thing with Ibramihovic before that ridiculous goal against England. Before that he was an overrated scrub and then because he scored a wonder goal against England Ibra is suddenly part of the elite group of players.

The Messi goes missing against teams that matter is a myth. Did you not see the World Cup where his moment of magic pushed Argentina past the group stages? What about his champions league FINAL goals? Semi final winners? El Classico performances? There are matches where Ronaldo goes 'missing' as well. When Messi and Ronaldo have both played in numerous games against 'teams that matters', there are bound to be games where they play below expectations. Especially when teams set up their defence specifically against the two of them.

I don't get what you are trying to go with here. Saying Messi goes missing against teams that matters and then bring up how Messi never posed a threat against mediocre teams like Celtic. It seem like you had nothing to use against Messi and just want to give him a label to put him down. Both players are awesome, but even awesome players can have off games too.

 

[Its Clobberin' Time]

Height, aerial ability, two feet, long range strikes, strength, pace....Ronaldo tops Messi in every single one of these. Plus, Ronnie has done it in two countries and on international level....

 

[L@RISANO]

Height, aerial ability, two feet, long range strikes, strength, pace....Ronaldo tops Messi in every single one of these. Plus, Ronnie has done it in two countries and on international level....

Lulz.

No wonder the English players continue to falter on the International stage. Those are mainly physical attributes and that is all Ronnie fans bring up because the obvious stuff that Ronaldo's build allows him to do better in....

Technically, Messi trumps Ronnie in all those aspects, hence why he has been able to seamlessly become a virtual playmaker for both Club and Country in the past year....


Ronaldinho's msg for Messi after the latter broke the La Liga All-Time Scoring Record:
"Congratulations my friend, you deserve it... Being part of this story is very rewarding and seeing you today is a great pride, you conquered us all with your humility and talent!!! Congratulations Leo, family and Barcelona, you're awesome!!! ."

 

[Dave]

Cristiano Ronaldo set two personal milestones as he led Real Madrid to a record-equalling 18th-straight win on a historic night at the Bernabeu.

The Portugal forward has now scored more hat-tricks than any other La Liga player after completing his 23rd treble with his 200th Spanish top-flight goal.

He put Madrid ahead by drilling in a disputed penalty, after he had been fouled under seemingly minimal contact.

And his clinical volley and guided finish moved Real four points clear.

Ronaldo, who is the favourite to win the 2014 Ballon d'Or for his performances this year, was given a standing ovation as he was substituted towards the end of another memorable performance.

The 29-year-old had scored the same amount of hat-tricks as legendary Madrid forward Alfredo Di Stefano and Telmo Zarra of Athletic Bilbao, and eclipsed their tallies when he steered in Marcelo's cross.

And it also meant he reached his second century of La Liga goals in his 178th match for Real.

What an amazing accomplishment this is for Christiano Ronaldo. 23 hat-tricks is just incredible, no matter how little you thin of him. I don't think there can be any doubt that Christiano Ronaldo is amongst the very best football players to ever take the field. I also found another interesting statistic table.

Again, this is absolutely incredible. Ronaldo has now scored 200 La Liga goals in less than 6 years. He is now only 56 goals behind Leo Messi, despite having been active in La Liga for 5 years less than the Mini Maestro. I don't legitimately think that Ronaldo is ever likely to catch Messi because of his age. But I am positive that he will go onto be second in the scoring charts if he stays at Real Madrid for another two season; something which should and probably will happen. In fact, he could even surpass the great Raul this season if he continues his impeccable form.

 

[L@RISANO]

What an amazing accomplishment this is for Christiano Ronaldo. 23 hat-tricks is just incredible, no matter how little you thin of him. I don't think there can be any doubt that Christiano Ronaldo is amongst the very best football players to ever take the field. I also found another interesting statistic table.

Again, this is absolutely incredible. Ronaldo has now scored 200 La Liga goals in less than 6 years. He is now only 56 goals behind Leo Messi, despite having been active in La Liga for 5 years less than the Mini Maestro. I don't legitimately think that Ronaldo is ever likely to catch Messi because of his age. But I am positive that he will go onto be second in the scoring charts if he stays at Real Madrid for another two season; something which should and probably will happen. In fact, he could even surpass the great Raul this season if he continues his impeccable form.

That stat is very mis-leading, given Messi had only experienced pretty much 1 Full Season, by the time C.Ronaldo made his way to La Liga.
CR came to La Liga in 09-10, and has scored 200 La Liga goals in that time, whilst over the same period, Leo Messi has managed 202 La Liga goals.


Can Ronaldo catch Messi in La Liga?
I wouldn't rule it out, given that Messi has expressed some discontent at Barca given the A**holes that are on the board, whilst Ronaldo seems to be happy on a Madrid team that is flying high on all fronts.

In addition, Messi's role seems to be changing from being a false 9 to slowly becoming a false 10, given that Xavi and Iniesta don't actually have quality replacements lining up, and thus, Messi has to play a much deeper role, and also there is the small matter of Neymar and Suarez also being in the front line now, both of whom rank amongst the very best.



Nevertheless, whilst I know doing comparisons between the 2 is something many like, it is clear that this Rivalry is truly a Once in a lifetime occurence and the feats and records they both have accomplished are astounding in every level of club football available to them.
Cherish them, because I don't see it happening again.