As a lifelong Ronaldo fan, it pains me to demote his legendary status in anyway, but it has to be done. With Argentina winning the World Cup, Leo Messi playing such a vital role, and Portugal collapsing in the Quarterfinals, the G.O.A.T. debate between these two is finally settled.
I never wanted to write this article, but I can’t be biased against one of the greats and his achievements.
Prior to this World Cup, the age old G.O.A.T. debate was in the midst of its longest stalemate yet as neither Messi nor Ronaldo really achieved anything of note over the other for their respective clubs or countries.
Of course, Messi won the Copa America in 2021 with Argentina, which is a massive feat of its own, but Ronaldo had already won the European Championships with Portugal back in 2016. So, it was more like Messi tying Ronaldo on that front.
Reversely, Cristiano Ronaldo became the all-time leading club goal scorer with 801 goals, another heroic accomplishment, but if Leo Messi keeps up his Champions League goal pace this season throughout the rest of his PSG days, he’ll become the all-time leading goal scorer in the Champions League with 141+ goals. Another tie in the G.O.A.T. debate.
Yet, what Messi was able to do at this World Cup and how Ronaldo failed to bring Portugal to the promise land once again has solidified the case for me. I can no longer argue that Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are equal in terms of the trophies and titles they have collectively won as this World Cup championship has drastically tipped the scales in favor of the great #10. And I’m saying this as a Ronaldo and Manchester United fan.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s scoring tear for Manchester United in the 2008/09 Champions League campaign, and especially against Arsenal in the Semi-Finals where he scored two other-worldly goals, was what inspired a 7-year-old me to watch and then fall in love with the beautiful game, Ronaldo (from a football sense), and Manchester United.
Needless to say, I’m extremely partial to the man and all of his achievements in the football world.
That is not to say that I’m a Messi hater or anything of the sort as that couldn’t be further from the truth. I loved watching Leo Messi and his 2010’s Barcelona teams play against their Spanish and Champions League rivals, with the club more often than not dominating their opponents.
In other words, if the time ever came where I was forced to root for either Messi or Ronaldo in a head-to-head matchup, I usually found myself in CR7’s camp.
Nevertheless, it’s impossible to deny that Messi has been more successful in leading his teams to victory on the biggest occasions over Ronaldo.
What he was able to do with this Argentia side, scoring in 7/8 of Argentina’s games, scoring in every single knockout game, bagging a double during the Final, leading his team through their most challenging moments, and then scoring from the spot in the shootout (which has been his Achilles Heel) to help Argentia the 4-3 shootout victory was nothing short of footballing excellence.
I mean, Messi has not only won the one trophy both men desired above everything else, but he also scored 5X the number of knockout goals than Ronaldo has in a single tournament. Yes, that’s right, Crisitano Ronaldo has never scored a knockout World Cup goal, while Leo Messi now has 5.
Sure, trophies and titles aren’t everything as I still believe these two are (and will always be) equal in terms of talent, but when it comes down to winning the biggest trophies on the biggest stage, Leo Messi has just become the greatest player of all time in doing it.
Images Source: Featured Image: (Wikimedia Creative Commons License/Author: Кирилл Венедиктов) (Кирилл Венедиктов, CC BY-SA 3.0 GFDL, via Wikimedia Commons)
