When it comes to football two players have been the main headline for over a decade. The comparison between Messi and Ronaldo is one of the most common arguments you will hear on the streets. Messi fans claim the debate is settled after he lifted the World Cup trophy but Ronaldo fans also claim it’s not over yet. Let’s have a brief conversation about these two.
Ronaldo was born on February 5, 1985 and is a Portuguese professional football player who plays as a forward and captains both the Portugal national team and the Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr. Ronaldo has won 34 trophies in his career, including seven league titles, five UEFA Champions Leagues, the UEFA European Championship, and the UEFA Nations League. He also holds the record for the most appearances 183, scoring 140 goals and 42 assists in the Champions League. He is among the few
players to have made both international 205 appearances and 138 goals in the Champions League. Ronaldo has a record 868 goals for club and country. He started his football career at Sporting CP from 2002 to 2003 due to his hard work and his performance Sir Alex Ferguson who was Manchester United’s coach then showed interest in him and asked the English giant to sign him, he was signed in 2003 with a transfer fee of 12. 24 million euros to seal the deal making him the first Portuguese to play for the club. He was just 18 years, Ronaldo at the club didn’t disappoint, his debut match was against Bolton Wanderers where he started from the bench and came on as a substitute for Nicky Butt. He scored his first goal for the club against Portsmouth. In 2007-2008 season, he helped the club secure a treble, wining the Champions League,Premier League and the Community Shield.
He scored 42 goals that season in all competition and won the European Golden Shoe and the prestigious Ballon d’or and the FIFA world player for the first time in his football career. In 2009 Real Madrid signed him from Manchester United for a fee of 94 million euros. In his first season at Madrid he scored 33 goals in all competitions. In 2010-2011 season he got his first trophy as a Real Madrid player, he won the Copa del Rey and scored 53 goals and 16 assists in 54 matches. He further won two laliga trophies, two Copa del Rey, two UEFA Super Cups, three club world Cups and four champions league including a three peat in 2016, 2017 and 2018 which he played a vital role.He won four ballon d’Or awards in his nine years stay at Madrid. He moved to Juventus in 2018 and won two Serie A titles and two super Copa. Ronaldo returned to Manchester United in 2021, the second coming didn’t turn out to be what was expected so he moved to Al Nassr ,where he currently plays and is performing incredibly well.
Messi on the other hand was born on June 24, 1987, he is an Argentine professional football player who plays forward for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami and captains the Argentina national team. Considered one of the all-time greats, Messi has won a record eight Ballon d’Or awards, a record six European Golden Shoes, and was named to the Ballon d’Or Dream Team in 2020. Prior to departing the club in 2021, Messi had spent his entire professional career with Barcelona, where he set a club record 34 trophies, including ten La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey titles, and four UEFA Champions League.With his nation, he won the 2021 Copa América and the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Messi started his football career at the Newell’s Old Boys at Argentina between 1995- 2000 where he relocated to Europe, He signed an official deal with Barcelona in the year 2000, where he played 17 seasons. In his 17 seasons, Messi became the greatest Barcelona player of all time wining collective and individual titles for the club.He had a record 778 appearances for Barcelona and scored 672 goals, out of the 44 trophies he has, he had 35 at Barcelona alone.
He won the Champions League for 2006, 2009,2011 and 2015. He won 10 laliga trophies, 7 Copa del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 3 European super cups and 3 Club World Cup trophies.He won a record six ballon d’Or at Barcelona which he currently have eight. He won it in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2021.
Messi leading the Argentine national team has won the Copa America in 2021 and won the World Cup in 2022, which many believe have sealed the goat debate. Recently in a football discussion Jamie Carragher who is a former Liverpool player said that “Ronaldo is nowhere near Messi and the goat debate is over. Messi at PSG didn’t live up to expectation but won three trophies with the French club. Now at Inter Miami, he has already won a trophy with them and played a major role despite coming late in the season, an incredible player he is. He is now the player with the most trophies 44.
Some still consider the debate unsettled despite Messi winning the World Cup and becoming the most decorated football player with eight ballon d’Ors, however both players deserve to be appreciated for their consistency and making football lovers happy for over a decade, they made the Real Madrid Barcelona rivalry even more intense and football lovers really enjoyed the “Classico’s” that featured the two. Is football ever going to have their replacement ?
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