Two of the greatest players in history have fought a battle of statistics, collective titles and individual awards relegating other players to second place for many years as their dominance has been exceptional. The best period of this competition took place from 2009 to 2018 when Cristiano Ronaldo played for Real Madrid, in the same league as Lionel Messi, the idol of Barcelona.
Even today, despite their relative decline, and their departures from Spain, the debate on who is the best of the two animates soccer fans. Ronaldo the arrogant, with the sculpted body, work machine and goal machine, against Messi the discreet, the child with growth problems who became a soccer giant, with technique and collective sense beyond the norm. The left winger versus the right winger. At least at the beginning, since the Portuguese twirler turned into a killer of surfaces, scoring more than dribbling, while the little Argentine showed a colossal volume of play, playing both on the side and as a playmaker, unzoning happily during the end of his Catalan adventure and capable of making impossible passes while exploding the records of goals.
Whatever our favorite, it would be wrong to present Cristiano as the worker and Messi as the talent: if the reputation of the Portuguese as a hard worker is right, he is still a player of great talent, just as the genius of Messi could translate into a career as legendary thanks to his great professionalism. If Ronaldo is an icon in his country, with which he won the Euro 2016, Portugal's first major title and set records for goals in the national team, the image of Messi is different in Argentina. In the country of Maradona, Messi has always been an outsider since he left very young in Spain: certainly, he did not evolve with the best generation of Argentine players, but for a long time his inability to make his country win will be reproached despite excellent individual performances. Messi failed in the final of the 2014 World Cup but still offered the Copa America 2021, 28 years after the last won by Argentina and after three lost finals.
At club level, both have dominated European soccer. For Ronaldo, it is notably three English, two Spanish and two Italian championships, five times top scorer of his championship for four titles of Golden Boot (that is to say the best scorer in Europe), and especially five Champions League, the first one with Manchester United in 2008 then four with Real Madrid in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018. To this record, we must add a flurry of goals in the league and Champions League, as well as five Ballon d'Or. Messi has known almost exclusively Barcelona, which he joined as a child. With the Blaugrana, the Argentinean nugget won ten La Liga titles and finished top scorer eight times, winning the Golden Boot award six times. In the Champions League, Messi won four times with Barcelona, in 2006, 2009, 2011 and 2015. It is difficult to separate the two players on their record of achievements or their statistics as they have each experienced what other soccer legends would have taken two careers to know! In any case, their rivalry will always be manifested on the sporting level, in a respectful climate even when the classicos were stormy. Both men appreciate each other and recognize that the prowess of the other has pushed them to excel. However, Messi stands out in the collective imagination as the genius of his sport, capable of hundreds of dribbles, passes and goals that few can boast of being able to achieve several times.
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