Cristiano Ronaldo: The monster against the world

The other side of CR7 Cristiano Ronaldo 'donates £5 million in aid of Nepal' https://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/liga-cristiano-ronaldo-donates-5-million-aid-nepal-073629717--sow.html

it should be noted that thy can't be com pared.They both play from different wings with different steps of playing.Messi is very good yes but his ability as a young man and height gives him d advantage of dribbling over cr7.but play over 7 years consecutively as 1st or 2nd has made cr7 better even than messi .Also change of club side has no effect on cr7 performance rather improving on a daily bases.from sporting to man u to Real .yet on top of the game .move Messi off xaxi inesta and get him rated. Rinaldo Christianity is wonderful.Every play crests a trade mark for themselves so his way of celebrating goals should not be viewed as been selfish but individual invension .Bebeto, Roberto Carlos ,Diego maradona all did same during their prime days in d game .so y are you so personal. Remember all the so called stars in the game moved from club to another.take surez for istance.He did well while in Premier league yet has greatly improved. Let Messi out of Barca.then we give him new rating.

All right then, you said you disagree above. Do you agree that Ronaldo relies more on his athletic ability to be a cut above the rest than Messi? If you do, then it stands to reason that pound for pound, as both get older, Ronaldo's advantage over the competition will decrease more than what Messi's does. Messi will of course also become physically slower, but since he relies more on pure skill and cunning, this will not degrade at the same rate. If you don't agree with this, then what exactly are you disagreeing with me on? The reality is, Messi is three years younger. His form in unlikely to drop off at all over the next 2-3 years due to age. Ronaldo's in all likely hood will. Human physiology and sports science says it will. If you would like me to link you a few articles on the affects of aging, I can, but I think most know this very principle from the age of about 10.

I'm not sure how you deduced that from what I said. You're suggesting that with age, Ronaldo's abilities will deteriorate at a greater rate than Messi's. That's the bit I'm taking issue with.

so your basically saying players get better after 30? Am I correct in what you just said there?

Logic? Please expand on this. And please don't go down the path of suggesting that Ronaldo is nothing more than an athletic goal machine who'd become mediocre once his place and aerial ability goes. All the greats have managed to adapt their game as their physical attributes diminish, and I expect Ronaldo do the same. His footballing brain is vastly underrated in my opinion.

I'm a Ronaldo man through and through. Largely because of his remarkable efforts at my beloved Man United. Have nothing but respect for Messi but will always rate Ronaldo slightly higher. Could argue about it til the cows come home but it really is a subjective issue.

This is not meant for you specifically but more against the general view that Ronaldo's passing sucks and that he is a selfish player. I think Ronaldo's passing game is pretty underrated. He no longer is as good a dribbler as he was in his ManU days due to injuries and age but he has really improved this aspect of his game. He clearly is not a playmaker like Messi but his link up play, quick one-twos and crosses( when he does hit 'em ) are great. I mean he had more assists last season than Messi! He is a very intelligent player and a good passer of the ball and is certainly much more than just a goal scorer.

I honestly believe that both these great players will be able to maintain a high level for a very long time. When age cathes up with them, Messi can easily rely on his playmaking skills and ball control to take a more deeper role while Ronaldo with his great positional sense, heading, strength and eye for goal will imo eventually evolve into a great centre forward( which if you see, he's already started to do).

Age catches up with everyone SM. Logic tells me that age wont affect Messi's game to the same extent as Ronaldo's. Sports science tells us this. Add in 3 years youth advantage to Messi and Ronaldo's dream of being the best of this era are next to stuff all and none.

Disagree with this. I'd say with the way Ronaldo famously looks after himself, he'd remain on a high level longer than most. No, he won't be the best player in the world at 37, but he'd still up there should he choose to remain in the game that long.

Where does the myth that Messi has no right foot come from? He's scored at least four or five cracking goals on his right foot this season alone (and 16 all up, twice as many as CR7). Is his left foot better than his right, absolutely. Is his right foot weak? You don't chip both Neuer and Casillas or score from outside the box with a weak foot.

Wow Rick impressive. I'm a massive Ronaldo fan, but agree Messi could still be better then most at 37 years where as Ronaldo will be well past his peak at 37 years old.

I remember from the first time I saw Ronaldo play for Man United I said he would become the best player in the world. He's certainly become the best to watch, but Messi on song just shades him imo. Yes Messi has just one foot - but so did Maradona - who remains the best ever (imo).

It really depends. Messi probably has more upside still than Ronaldo. After all, he is 27 and Ronaldo 30. Ronaldo because he relies more on his athletic ability probably will drop off sooner than Messi. As such, it's very plausible should Barca win the UCL and Messi fire once again in it that he will win the Ballon Dor. Should this happen he is without question the greatest player ever most likely. If Ronaldo wins, then he is probably even with the great Messi. It's mind blowing to think Messi could become a 8 or 9 times Ballon Dor winner, just mind blowing. 27 years old, what a freak of nature he is.

Love to know the word that cause the moderation.

Well put argument!!! Not doubting all of what you are saying but... In saying that James / Modric / Isco / Bale / Benzema (Di Maria, Ozil…) is anyway at the level of Inesita, Xavi, Neymar & Suarez is wrong & I think Di Maria & James are wonderful players. I have little complaints of your assumption of Messi, I agree with most if not all of what your are saying in regards to Messi. As a controlling midfielder ala Inesita, who can also score 50 goals a season is without doubt difficult to surpass & if people are rating Messi the greatest ever, then a lot more credit must go to Ronaldo, who is pushing him for best player of his generation. For every little geniuses like Inesita or Xavi, there are dominant players like Drogba, Toure & Roy Keene who has big influence on games & while they are not as creative as Inesita & Xavi, there allround play brings them to this level. This is what I'm saying about Ronaldo &where I differ to you, now Ronadlo has the skills of Messi, maybe not at that level, but he is above most others, now you add that physical presence, we both agree he is as good as Cahill's now, this is not only technique but bravery, he puts his head where many fear (you mentioned the his 6 inch header against Juve, you failed to mentioned many may have missed as they may have been worried by the hulk of Buffoon coming down on him), Ronaldo is brave. Ronaldo has a presence, he is big, strong fast, he has skills, can score goals, he can be provider, he is brave. You say there is a case for being better then the other Ronaldo (Zidane different sort of player to compare), but to me no comparison, the other Ronaldo is just a pure goalscorer, Cristiano is so much more & yet has a better goal scoring record. In summary yes I think Messi is the best player with Maradona I have seen & quickly going past I think, but don't be too quick to dismiss Ronaldo, who is pressing Messi, with sheer will & at times surpassing him is wrong

Not this game again. I will address each issue in turn (and also dispell the myth of "completeness"). Yes I think that Messi is in fact a better finisher than Ronaldo. He scores the same if not more goals from less attempts than Ronaldo. How can that even be a debate, this is actually probably one of the only things in football where you can use cold hard stats to compare players? How do they convert their chances. It's not like Ronaldo is pumping in 20 more goals than Messi. Their goalscoring records are very similar, and if anything Messi has a better career scoring ratio while having the better conversion ratio. I don't know if you've noticed, but Xavi and Iniesta have barely fed Messi anything for about 3 years now. Iniesta got his first La Liga assist in over a year last weekend, not to Messi, all while Messi has scored around 50 Liga goals in that period. Xavi is a benchwarmer these days. It certainly sounds like I watch more Barcelona games than you watch Real. I love how you conveniently ignore Ronaldo receiving service from known hacks such as James / Modric / Isco / Bale / Benzema (Di Maria, Ozil...). Ronaldo's header from 6 inches out against Juventus certainly had nothing to do with James' fantastic run and cross I know. How many goals does Ronaldo actually score from his better shot? When was the last time he scored from outside the box? Messi just beat Neuer at his near post from outside the box. In fact, I bet you anything that Messi has scored more goals from outside the box this season than Ronaldo. Messi has also scored more free-kicks than Ronaldo recently. Picking out random occasions when Ronaldo tracks back - I can do the same. This is Messi against Sevilla only 3 weeks ago. There's also videos all over YouTube where Messi has done the same thing to Aguero on multiple occasions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQ2OA1csUWs Ronaldo's all round game is NOT as good as Messi's and many other midfielders (Modric, Iniesta, James, Hazard, Silva, Ozil....). He touches the ball far less than a Modric for example. Midfielders control football games, forwards score and it's been that way forever. Ronaldo is a great forward and scores a tonne, but control games from midfield he does not. Messi meanwhile frequently has the most touches in the Barcelona midfield. He has now taken over from Xavi and Iniesta and controls the midfield, all while scoring 50+ goals a season. Take the midweek games as an example, Messi had the 2nd most touches for Barcelona and twice as many as Ronaldo (who also had at least half a dozen team mates touch the ball more than him). And Barcelona actually lost the possession count against Bayern so you cannot even claim it was because Barcelona have more possession. The two-footed argument is also nonsense. Messi has scored 16 goals with his right foot this season, including a chip over Neuer, some outside the box screamers against Espanyol and Villareal. In fact he has scored more goals with his right than Ronaldo has with his left. Messi is also a better dribbler - I don't need to expand here. Ronaldo is certainly a better header than Messi, and is up there with Cahill as the best I've seen. But Messi is no scrub either, particularly given his height, as Ronaldo can attest when Messi scored a header in a Champions League Final against Ronaldo's Man United. Ronaldo is also a better penalty taker than Messi, and he has also taken a lot more. Both players have made crucial penalties and both have missed crucial penalties (including in 2012 where Messi missed against Cech and Ronaldo missed in the shootout the very next day against Bayern). Ronaldo is still the second best player in the world and of his generation. He is a world class forward and winger wrapped in a single player. There is a case for him being better than Ronaldo (Brazilian) and Zidane. But Messi is a world class forward, winger and midfielder wrapped in a single player (Michael Cox of zonal marking has made a similar point before saying he is THREE elite player wrapped in one). For me, and to go back to balotelli's original question, there is no doubt that Messi overshadows Ronaldo, as Ronaldo does everyone else in the world.

Ronaldo is a more complete footballer than Messi: he's two-footed - although when you have a wand for a left foot such as Messi, that might not matter so much! - he's technically a superb header of the ball and immensely strong and adroit on both sides of his body. Sir Alex Ferguson, for one, was never in doubt as to Ronaldo's superior all-round game. He's also identifiably competitive to an insane, and perhaps even unhealthy, degree. There are times when he appears to lose his emotional equilibrium and can come across as sulky and self-centred. One can easily imagine the odd team-mate of Ronaldo's not caring for him too much - whereas little Messi seems like a sweet little innocent with not an enemy in the world. I wouldn't mind either in my side...

Do you really see Messi as good a finisher as Ronaldo? Do you watch Real Madrid play, do you see the headers he makes, they are as good if not better then Cahill's. Ronaldo also has better shot. What Messi has is Inesita (who I rate better then Zidane) & Xavi feeding him. Don't get me wrong, I think on the ball & playmaking Messi is supreme but Ronaldo has an allround game due to his superior athletic ability. If you get a tape of last year's Champions league final you will see Ronaldo chasing all the way back into his penalty area before causing the error which then he assisted the next attack that allowed Di Maria set up bale for the winner. This as you will remember done in the 2nd half of extra time. Rarely seen Messi track back. As Alex Ferguson says, I have seen Ronaldo at Stoke or Crystal Palace & he is still a superstar, could Messi be as effective with players kicking the crap of him. Messi is the best for his ability with ball & his influence of games, but don't say Ronaldo is only about finishing, his allround game is as good as anyone, he has amazing Skill & technique he has speed, he has a great shot, one of the best headers of the game ever & has a huge engine. We are blessed to have 2 of GOAT playing at the same time, pushing each other on the world stage. As the writer says Messi is slightly more talented (that 2nd goal the other night was out of this world) but Ronaldo is also demanding attention that cannot be ignored,