Quite enjoyed that, decent football fix on a non-Euros night.
Ronaldo obviously has a huge ego, but I've always quite liked him, he's worked so hard to make himself one of the best in the world.
Roy Keane summed it up pretty well.
Messi is just a naturally gifted freak, but Ronaldo has got to where he has through sheer hard work and dedication. Obviously he had the talent but all the extra training, hours in the gym, never touching alcohol, always eating the right foods. Anything that can give him an edge and help prolong his career.
Ronaldo though has done it in different leagues and even won silverware in a bang average Portugal side. To me, his overall game is better than Messi.
Genuinely the best player of all time IMO.
Better than Maradona?
I reckon so, Maradona's career really wound down after Napoli, where he left at the age of 31. Ronaldo is 36 and still banging in goals at major tournaments and in top leagues, and is probably the most complete attacking player of all time. His combination of speed, strength, leaping ability, trickery and shooting power and accuracy puts him a level above anyone before him, for me.
For me when he retires he will slip from the memory pretty quickly.
Really? Whatever you think of him personally he's set a vast number of records that will probably not be broken for a long time, if ever. Think his impact will live a long time.
Ronaldo though has done it in different leagues and even won silverware in a bang average Portugal side. To me, his overall game is better than Messi.
Genuinely the best player of all time IMO.
Although it's often stated, i can't agree with this.
Ronaldo played for United at their peak in England, went to Real Madrid, then went to Juventus who'd won the league 7 years running. Doing it at those clubs doesn't make him better than Messi just because he stayed put. Would Messi have been considered greater if he'd gone to Man City and then Bayern?
Absolutely no question about his international record though, Ronaldo's goal tally is crazy. But let's not get carried away about him winning the Euro's. They drew all 3 group games, got past Croatia in extra time (he didn't score), then Poland on penalties (he didn't score in the game), then they beat Wales, then in the final he went off injured after about 20 minutes and they won it without him.
I just remember that first game of his at the Valley.....Kish and Steward trying to smash him into the stands at every opportunity.
Remember Stuart being asked to comment on Soccer am after being shown a clip where he crudely effectively prevented Ronaldo from playing. He said, 'The guy was mugging me off in front of my own supporters, what do you want me to do?'
Ronaldo though has done it in different leagues and even won silverware in a bang average Portugal side. To me, his overall game is better than Messi.
Genuinely the best player of all time IMO.
Better than Maradona?
Pele, Maradona, Cruyff, Messi, C Ronaldo, Ronaldo, Best - all seven in the mix for me in my lifetime but impossible to rank them in order (after Best of course!).
Ronaldo is of course extremely hard working but watching Messi play and especially at his peak, there is no contest IMO. Messi was completely unreal and we will never see a player like him again. His close control, his dribbling, his passing, his finishing is out of this world. And to say he hasn't worked hard or trains well I think is wrong - he's barely ever had an injury and I would imagine when he was a kid with his hormone issues, no one would have ever thought he would get to the level he is at right now
I disagree with anyone saying Cristiano Ronaldo is the best player ever.
He's fantastically talented and, on the pitch (and it's very apparent it's on the training field too) he's shown himself to be an almost freakishly-brilliant player. I can think of three players I think are better.
But I couldn't argue strongly against someone who thinks he's the best player ever - it's a perfectly valid opinion. And one of the best things about football: the fact we can disagree with honestly-held opinions like that.
For me, there's only one player with an absolute right to be called 'Best'.
Ronaldo is of course extremely hard working but watching Messi play and especially at his peak, there is no contest IMO. Messi was completely unreal and we will never see a player like him again. His close control, his dribbling, his passing, his finishing is out of this world. And to say he hasn't worked hard or trains well I think is wrong - he's barely ever had an injury and I would imagine when he was a kid with his hormone issues, no one would have ever thought he would get to the level he is at right now
Yeah Messi wouldn’t pass the Charlton life height test.
I disagree with anyone saying Cristiano Ronaldo is the best player ever.
He's fantastically talented and, on the pitch (and it's very apparent it's on the training field too) he's shown himself to be an almost freakishly-brilliant player. I can think of three players I think are better.
But I couldn't argue strongly against someone who thinks he's the best player ever - it's a perfectly valid opinion. And one of the best things about football: the fact we can disagree with honestly-held opinions like that.
For me, there's only one player with an absolute right to be called 'Best'.
Lets not bring Leon in to this - he was always injured and only managed 5 games for us
Remember that as being probably Rad's best game for us - he certainly made life difficult for Ronaldo. Funnily enough I can't remember Stuart getting mugged off so many times by him, I can see exactly why he made that Soccer AM quote - he was after all an experienced and classy pro.
Purely for his skills, speed, strength, fitness levels, heading ability, vision and longevity he's the best for me.
Remember that as being probably Rad's best game for us - he certainly made life difficult for Ronaldo. Funnily enough I can't remember Stuart getting mugged off so many times by him, I can see exactly why he made that Soccer AM quote - he was after all an experienced and classy pro.
Purely for his skills, speed, strength, fitness levels, heading ability, vision and longevity he's the best for me.
I used to sit in the front row of C block in the East. I'm pretty sure that at some point in the match Keane aggressively picked Ronaldo up off right in front of me and said something less than complimentary to him. My take on it was that he was berating him for the amount of time he seemed to be spending on the deck.
Quite enjoyed that, decent football fix on a non-Euros night.
Ronaldo obviously has a huge ego, but I've always quite liked him, he's worked so hard to make himself one of the best in the world.
Roy Keane summed it up pretty well.
Messi is just a naturally gifted freak, but Ronaldo has got to where he has through sheer hard work and dedication. Obviously he had the talent but all the extra training, hours in the gym, never touching alcohol, always eating the right foods. Anything that can give him an edge and help prolong his career.
I have never really liked this argument from Keane as it implies that Messi hasn't had to work on his game and has just lucked into to his ability, which is nonsense. Ronaldo is an interesting case for obsessive preparation and hard work but Messi also works incredibly hard on the training pitch and has altered and tailored his diet as he's aged to prolong his career and improve himself. I don't care about which one is better, because it really doesn't matter who the 'best' is, but both have had to allow their improvement work to completely dominate their lives and their thoughts, it's not the case that one just turns up and is brilliant.
Also, this is the same Roy Keane who when asked to pick best 11s overtly states that he feels out of loyalty he has to picks his former teammates, and would recommend Denis Irwin for the ballon d'or even now aged 55, so I'm rarely inclined to take what he says too seriously when there's a United bias involved. Or at all actually.
Hardly anything between them but personal opinion has been that Messi is the better of the 2. How fortunate have we been though to be in this era and see 2 of the very best to have ever played the game. Not sure who can take up their mantel so let's just enjoy these 2 footballing freaks of nature whilst we can!
Honestly, who the hell cares. Messi and Ronaldo are two of the greatest players of all time, does it really matter which is second/third/seventh/whatever. No need to put rankings on it, just appreciate having that kind of talent on display.
Honestly, who the hell cares. Messi and Ronaldo are two of the greatest players of all time, does it really matter which is second/third/seventh/whatever. No need to put rankings on it, just appreciate having that kind of talent on display.
Definitely this. Who the hell would know anyway? The stats can only possibly tell a partial story because they both (as did all the other greats) played with different people under different circumstances. For anyone to come up with anything approaching a rational decision, they'd have to watch everything they did. In fact they'd have to watch so much football, that their sanity would be under scrutiny anyway.
Ronaldo though has done it in different leagues and even won silverware in a bang average Portugal side. To me, his overall game is better than Messi.
Genuinely the best player of all time IMO.
Better than Maradona?
Yeah very much so.
Have to disagree on that one.
Maradona did it on different continents and took an otherwise unexceptional Argentina to two World Cup finals. He may have been an even bigger cheat than Ronaldo but I’ve never seen Ronaldo score anything to match Maradona’s second goal against England in 1986.
Ronaldo has also benefitted from better protection by referees than players in 60’s, 70’s and 80’s.
Comments
Ronaldo obviously has a huge ego, but I've always quite liked him, he's worked so hard to make himself one of the best in the world.
Messi is just a naturally gifted freak, but Ronaldo has got to where he has through sheer hard work and dedication. Obviously he had the talent but all the extra training, hours in the gym, never touching alcohol, always eating the right foods. Anything that can give him an edge and help prolong his career.
Ronaldo though has done it in different leagues and even won silverware in a bang average Portugal side. To me, his overall game is better than Messi.
Genuinely the best player of all time IMO.
Really enjoy watching him, even if he's not been up to his usual standard these Euros.
Ronaldo played for United at their peak in England, went to Real Madrid, then went to Juventus who'd won the league 7 years running. Doing it at those clubs doesn't make him better than Messi just because he stayed put. Would Messi have been considered greater if he'd gone to Man City and then Bayern?
Absolutely no question about his international record though, Ronaldo's goal tally is crazy. But let's not get carried away about him winning the Euro's. They drew all 3 group games, got past Croatia in extra time (he didn't score), then Poland on penalties (he didn't score in the game), then they beat Wales, then in the final he went off injured after about 20 minutes and they won it without him.
He's fantastically talented and, on the pitch (and it's very apparent it's on the training field too) he's shown himself to be an almost freakishly-brilliant player. I can think of three players I think are better.
But I couldn't argue strongly against someone who thinks he's the best player ever - it's a perfectly valid opinion. And one of the best things about football: the fact we can disagree with honestly-held opinions like that.
For me, there's only one player with an absolute right to be called 'Best'.
Remember that as being probably Rad's best game for us - he certainly made life difficult for Ronaldo. Funnily enough I can't remember Stuart getting mugged off so many times by him, I can see exactly why he made that Soccer AM quote - he was after all an experienced and classy pro.
Purely for his skills, speed, strength, fitness levels, heading ability, vision and longevity he's the best for me.
Maradona was the best though. And he did it all when off his tits in an era of bobbly pitches and hatchet defenders.
Maradona did it on different continents and took an otherwise unexceptional Argentina to two World Cup finals. He may have been an even bigger cheat than Ronaldo but I’ve never seen Ronaldo score anything to match Maradona’s second goal against England in 1986.
Ronaldo has also benefitted from better protection by referees than players in 60’s, 70’s and 80’s.