Pitch Tackle

GOAT debate Messi vs Ronaldo

Messi vs Ronaldo has been the longest known fan base debate topic football has ever produced in the last decade and in its history. But for many football fans across the world, the FIFA world cup final on December 18, 2022, marked the end of this debate era.

More than a decade-old debate about who is the football GOAT is arguably or controversially clinched by the Argentina victory that saw Messi lift the world cup. Messi led the Argentine squad against the French in the 2022 FIFA world cup final in Lusail, Qatar which ended in a 3-3 draw and penalty shootout in favor of Argentina.

Ronaldo and Messi in Al-Nassr vs PSG friendly

The GOAT debate for or against Christiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi which has been predicated on the heroic exploits and several years of consistent outrunning between these two great players has shifted in favor of Lionel Messi after he led his team to clinch the 2022 FIFA world cup which had been the single most important achievement that had eluded the two players.

However, some have argued that while winning a world cup is no doubt an important achievement, it is definitely not the only parameter that could be used to define the GOAT; rather, the GOAT debate is one that should be analyzed comprehensively across different spheres of influence of the players in view.

Many football analysts and pundits in that regard suggested that if the GOAT debate must be based on world-cup titles, that would mean ruling out Messi or Ronaldo off the track and therefore give the honor only to Pele who has won the title 3 times for his country. The highest in the history of football.

Comparative analysis is sometimes overlooked in soccer, often joggling between values and facts. This alternation of values and facts however makes the argument holistic, interesting, and enduring. Therefore, the GOAT debate between Ronaldo and Messi may not end any time soon until the exploits of both characters fade into a mythical reference in the book of history in many generations to come.

As a result, the distant posterity of both players shall depend more on the impression of storytellers than on the actual reality or facts.

Messi and Ronaldo in elclassico

It is believed that between the two players, one is defined as an epitome of grace and talent, and the other a symbol of bravely and determination; one dazzles through his opposition, creating chances with bewildering rapidity, the other invariably converts chances to great counts with a clinical finish.

Therefore, the side of the debate one chooses to favor may depend on one’s personal values, choice, philosophy, or experience.

While Messi and Ronaldo played at the same time in Spain, they both played similar positions and they both have many similarities in their play. But they were vastly different players.

Cristiano Ronaldo in Real Madrid

Ronaldo went from a skinny awkward teenager, with a fast turn of pace and faster feet, who was essentially a one-trick-pony, to a grown-assed man who was able to combine elite physical abilities with unbelievable technical skill. Renaldo’s game evolved into one where he dazzled opponents with skill while he physically overpowered them. As he has begun to age, that physical edge has receded.

Lionel Messi in Barcelona

Messi, on the other hand, has never been the most physically gifted player on any team; within athletic metrics. The one thing that has always been a hallmark of Messi’s style, is the insane amount of control he has over a ball. While Messi isn’t the same player as he was 10 years ago, he has never lost his football IQ or ability to make a football do whatever the hell he wants it to do.
In his prime, there wasn’t a better player than Ronaldo. But just for the way that Messi has managed to maintain the same elite level of play, he’s the better of the two.

Both Ronaldo and Messi have had remarkable years and wonderful seasons in the timeline of the game apart from the time of Pele and Maradona, another pair of football legends that are often included in the GOAT debate. But unlike Ronaldo and Messi who are contemporaries, Pele and Maradona played at different points in time which arguably puts the comparison of the latter less valid or relevant than the former.