Ronaldo and Messi: Who is better?

The two-horse race between Ronaldo and Messi began when they won the FIFA World Player of the Year and the Ballon d'Or in 2008. Since then, they have created a fierce competition for 3 decades. During this time, many other stars have appeared but no one has been able to reach such a level. Therefore, this competition has created many emotional colors and high excitement for football lovers around the world. Among them, a large number of fans have cross-attacked each other's idols. However, both have always respected each other.

Messi led Argentina to defeat the reigning South American champions to win the 2021 Copa America. Photo: Andre Penner/AP

Ronaldo once led Portugal to win the European Championship, while Messi once carried Argentina to win the South American Championship. Messi has won more Golden Balls and Golden Boots, but Ronaldo is the king of the Champions League. In addition, there are hundreds of different statistics that show both of them always at the top of the table. They are almost equal in one-on-one comparisons, which is why the question of who is better has lasted for over 3 decades.

Back to 2016, this is truly the opposite extreme of the two when Ronaldo won 2 championship cups in the 2 most prestigious arenas, EURO and Cup C1; while Messi was the culprit who caused Argentina to suffer its 6th consecutive defeat in the final of a major tournament. This was truly a terrible year because Argentina lost twice to Germany in the finals of the World Cup 1990, 2014; lost twice to Brazil in the finals of the Copa America 2004, 2007 and lost twice to Chile in the finals of the Copa 2015, 2016; at the same time, Barca club was also eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Cup C1 for the second time in three seasons by Atletico Madrid. And finally, while CR7 won the most prestigious individual title, the Golden Ball, Messi was not named in the Top 3 Best Player in Europe while Messi himself was the "reigning" holder of this title a year before. At this point, many people have said that Messi really cannot compare with Ronaldo.

Messi led Argentina to defeat the reigning European champions to win the 2022 Intercontinental Super Cup. Photo: Frank Augstein/AP

Or like in 2019, when Messi reaped many titles: Best player and top scorer of La Liga, top scorer of Cup C1; European Golden Shoe for the 3rd consecutive time, Best male player of the year (FIFA The Best), and most especially the 6th Golden Ball in his career, but his joy was still not really complete, when Barca only won the runner-up position in the King's Cup, was overtaken by Liverpool in the semi-finals of Cup C1, and the Argentina team only ranked 3rd in Copa America 2019.

At this point, many people have said thatMessinot the type of player who carries the team to victory. This view has also been widely accepted because Messi is always considered the "trump card" but his team can hardly reach the highest position. Fate has created an individual with super skills and huge titles, but tied to a long-lasting debt to the homeland in the flag and shirt.

Thus, the failure of the National Team has been a difficult knot to untie since the 2014 World Cup, and Messi's two withdrawals from the team have made the majority of public opinion affirm that Messi is just a deserter on the field and has no leadership qualities. But in the end, Messi used time to correct that. And this time, fate smiled on him when Messi led Argentina to win the South American Championship Cup last year as the best player, top scorer and assist king of the tournament. In June this year, Messi shone again with a double assist to help Argentina win the Intercontinental Super Cup. By winning 2 prestigious Gold Cups in 2 consecutive years, Messi has proven one thing: if fate always teases you so that your dream has not come true, then continue and make constant efforts, because happiness will always smile in the time after that.

Messi led Argentina to defeat the reigning world champions to win the 2022 World Cup. Photo: Martin Meissner

At this World Cup, "The world owes Messi a World Cup title". But after all, the world does not owe Messi, but fate has done it, because in the past, fate has always teased El Pulga, causing him to fall many times before the gates of heaven. And in the 2022 World Cup final that took place yesterday, Messi experienced suspense, tension, pressure, suffocation, joy, disappointment and then burst into happiness. Messi's performance in this final was like a miniature model of his career. At the age of 35, Messi finally won the only trophy he had ever missed. It also silenced anyone who said that Messi was still in Maradona's shadow.

Messi completed a perfect World Cup final as the best player of the final and the best player of the World Cup. Messi also became the first player to score in the group stage, round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final at a World Cup. After Messi led Argentina to the pinnacle of glory after nearly 40 years of waiting, the perfection of Messi's career has truly surpassed Maradona and CR7. Winning the World Cup has directly changed Messi's historical position from being one level below Maradona and Pele, now completely surpassing the two legendary seniors, to become the only player in history with a unique collection of titles.

Thus, with Messi's leadership, the Argentina team has gone from victory to victory. In that absolute dominance, Messi has always been the soul and heart of the team's playing style. That is why the comparison between Maradona and Messi in his homeland Argentina, as well as the comparison between CR7 and El Pulga around the world, has come to an end. /.