Messi is the best player in league competitions this season by a massive margin, so what's your point?It really is quite cute how the CL is nothing more than a glorified cup competition which takes a lot of luck to win in the previous 3 seasons and has suddenly become the premier competition in the world once again.
Messi v Ronaldo | Contains double your daily salt allowance
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Player histories is where both Barcelona and Real Madrid are wayyy out on their own when it comes to this 'biggest club in the world' title. Together they've basically had the who's who of the game playing for them, except Pele.
United are the only English club that come close, and even then it's a big gap.
So he's currently at 6 knock out goals with possibly three games to go. If he manages another two goals, he would've matched Ronaldo's best knock out rounds - scoring wise, that is. I think his overall game is still far better than Ronaldo's was even at his prime.
You mean after VVD?I'm delighted that the Scousers look like finishing the season winning as much as United.
The 2nd best player in the world occasionally showing his worth in the CL after 3 years of doing feck-all.
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Didn’t he scored a goal with his weaker foot this weekend? Anyway I agree with everything you said, after Messi he was the only one who was above the others. Even the best players on the Premier League are way behind of reaching a similar level.
Career wise I mean.
The main/only argument in Ronaldo's favor is that he has been better in the Champions League than Messi over recent years.It really is quite cute how the CL is nothing more than a glorified cup competition which takes a lot of luck to win in the previous 3 seasons and has suddenly become the premier competition in the world once again.
Now Messi has clearly outshone him in two of the last five CL campaigns, so he barely even has that going for him.
Messis definitely been better than Ronaldo this year no debate.
However if both retired tomorrow i think Ronaldo would have had the better career
This is something interesting I found online.
Dont know if its been posted here before.
Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi in court:
Judge: Have any of you won the Golden ball? Ronaldo: Yes, 5 times.
Messi: Yes, 5 times as well.
Judge: Have any of you won the Golden Boot? Ronaldo: Yes, 4 times. Messi: Same here.
Judge: How many individual trophies have you each won? Ronaldo: 16. Messi: 13.
Judge: Have any of you played for another club’s first team besides your current one? Ronaldo: Yes! Sporting CP in Portugal first division and Manchester United in BPL. Messi: No. Only Barcelona.
Judge: Have any of you won a title with your national team?
Ronaldo: Yes! We won Portugal’s first ever European Championship.
Messi: No.
Judge: How many goals have each of you scored for your respective teams?
Ronaldo: Should I count the goals I’ve scored for Man United and Sporting?
Judge: No. Only for Real Madrid.
Ronaldo: 436 goals in 426 appearances or 9 seasons.
Messi: 539 goals in 625 appearances or 14 seasons.
Judge: Who has scored more hat- tricks in La Liga?
Ronaldo: Me. 35 in La Liga.
Messi: Ronaldo has. I’ve scored 28.
Judge: Which is the most prestigious competition in club football?
Ronaldo: Champions League.
Messi: Champions League.
Judge: Have any of you won Champions League? Ronaldo: Yes, 5 times in total with 2 different teams. Once with Man United and 4 times with Madrid.
Messi: Yes, 4 times with Barcelona only. J
Judge: Who has scored more goals in the CL between the two of you?
Ronaldo: I’ve scored 118 goals in the CL. Messi: I’ve scored 100.
Judge: Who has more assists between the two of you in the CL?
Ronaldo: I have 39.
Messi: Ronaldo has. I have 26.
Judge: Who has scored more goals in total in the CL finals?
Ronaldo: Me.
Messi: Ronaldo.
Judge: Which one of you have scored more free kicks?
Ronaldo: I have.
Messi: Ronaldo has.
Judge: Most goals with weak foot?
Ronaldo: Me, I think.
Messi: (Nods in agreement).
Judge: Most goals from outside of the box? Ronaldo: Me.. again.
Messi: Ronaldo.
Judge: Who has scored more headers? Ronaldo: Is that a serious question?
Messi: ...
Judge: Who has a better penalty conversion rate?
Ronaldo: I think I do. I’ve scored 82% of the penalties I’ve taken.
Messi: I’ve scored 77% of the penalties I’ve taken.
Judge: Which one of you have scored the most goals in total during your career? Ronaldo: I think I have. 647 goals.
Messi: I’ve scored 603
Judge: How many football records do each of you hold in total for both club and country? Ronaldo: 146
Messi: 110
Judge: Well, after analyzing all of the facts that have been presented to me. I can only draw one conclusion when it comes to comparing you both as football players. That conclusion is that Ronaldo is the better player in almost every category. When it comes to goal scoring and accolades for both club and country, Ronaldo comes out on top. Messi, you are without a doubt Barcelona’s best player of all time. But certainly not the world’s best ever. That is clearly Ronaldo at the moment. Messi: But I am younger than Ronaldo and haven’t played as many matches as him. Judge: I understand that, but until you surpass his goal scoring records and win as many trophies both individually and collectively as he has, then Ronaldo will, according to the statistics, be considered as the best football player of all time. Until then, keep pushing on and you just might be able to achieve just as much as Ronaldo.
However if both retired tomorrow i think Ronaldo would have had the better career
This is something interesting I found online.
Dont know if its been posted here before.
Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi in court:
Judge: Have any of you won the Golden ball? Ronaldo: Yes, 5 times.
Messi: Yes, 5 times as well.
Judge: Have any of you won the Golden Boot? Ronaldo: Yes, 4 times. Messi: Same here.
Judge: How many individual trophies have you each won? Ronaldo: 16. Messi: 13.
Judge: Have any of you played for another club’s first team besides your current one? Ronaldo: Yes! Sporting CP in Portugal first division and Manchester United in BPL. Messi: No. Only Barcelona.
Judge: Have any of you won a title with your national team?
Ronaldo: Yes! We won Portugal’s first ever European Championship.
Messi: No.
Judge: How many goals have each of you scored for your respective teams?
Ronaldo: Should I count the goals I’ve scored for Man United and Sporting?
Judge: No. Only for Real Madrid.
Ronaldo: 436 goals in 426 appearances or 9 seasons.
Messi: 539 goals in 625 appearances or 14 seasons.
Judge: Who has scored more hat- tricks in La Liga?
Ronaldo: Me. 35 in La Liga.
Messi: Ronaldo has. I’ve scored 28.
Judge: Which is the most prestigious competition in club football?
Ronaldo: Champions League.
Messi: Champions League.
Judge: Have any of you won Champions League? Ronaldo: Yes, 5 times in total with 2 different teams. Once with Man United and 4 times with Madrid.
Messi: Yes, 4 times with Barcelona only. J
Judge: Who has scored more goals in the CL between the two of you?
Ronaldo: I’ve scored 118 goals in the CL. Messi: I’ve scored 100.
Judge: Who has more assists between the two of you in the CL?
Ronaldo: I have 39.
Messi: Ronaldo has. I have 26.
Judge: Who has scored more goals in total in the CL finals?
Ronaldo: Me.
Messi: Ronaldo.
Judge: Which one of you have scored more free kicks?
Ronaldo: I have.
Messi: Ronaldo has.
Judge: Most goals with weak foot?
Ronaldo: Me, I think.
Messi: (Nods in agreement).
Judge: Most goals from outside of the box? Ronaldo: Me.. again.
Messi: Ronaldo.
Judge: Who has scored more headers? Ronaldo: Is that a serious question?
Messi: ...
Judge: Who has a better penalty conversion rate?
Ronaldo: I think I do. I’ve scored 82% of the penalties I’ve taken.
Messi: I’ve scored 77% of the penalties I’ve taken.
Judge: Which one of you have scored the most goals in total during your career? Ronaldo: I think I have. 647 goals.
Messi: I’ve scored 603
Judge: How many football records do each of you hold in total for both club and country? Ronaldo: 146
Messi: 110
Judge: Well, after analyzing all of the facts that have been presented to me. I can only draw one conclusion when it comes to comparing you both as football players. That conclusion is that Ronaldo is the better player in almost every category. When it comes to goal scoring and accolades for both club and country, Ronaldo comes out on top. Messi, you are without a doubt Barcelona’s best player of all time. But certainly not the world’s best ever. That is clearly Ronaldo at the moment. Messi: But I am younger than Ronaldo and haven’t played as many matches as him. Judge: I understand that, but until you surpass his goal scoring records and win as many trophies both individually and collectively as he has, then Ronaldo will, according to the statistics, be considered as the best football player of all time. Until then, keep pushing on and you just might be able to achieve just as much as Ronaldo.
Cool story bro.
They are both on 600 club goals now (Ronaldo playing 118 games more to be fair so that skewers the stats if you expect Messi to score over a goal-a-game in that many games), but Ronaldo's goal rate this season is 1 goal every 2 games, Messi's is a goal-a-game. Add to that Ronaldo is a few years older, playing in a worse team in Juventus and in a worse league.. it is safe to say Messi is about to run away with it in terms of who people see as the best player in the next 3-4 seasons. Ronaldo has been VERY lucky with injuries his whole career and I expect to see him injured more as he gets older, his body and bones deteriorate.
Be interesting to see if Ronaldo plays for Portugal in the roasting heat of World Cup Qatar in 2022.. he will be 37 years old chasing lost causes with a team who don't look like they are producing anymore great young players, will be such a sad end to a great career... Messi will be mid 30s but he can easily slot into the Xavi role and still be amazing into his 40s.
The gap between them has never been greater. Messi is scoring more goals now and has a better all-round game. So Ronaldo fans can't even bring up "Ronaldo is scoring more goals" now to defend him..
The more Ronaldo resists and tries to compete with Messi in Europe the more he will damage his legacy.. he needs to go play in the MLS or something.. do something different, turn a league or a team like Reading into something great. That is the only way he can one-up Messi, now. He's already won Serie A.. so just winning that every season will get boring, surely!? it's a poor league and as poor as the french league, if not poorer.
Be interesting to see if Ronaldo plays for Portugal in the roasting heat of World Cup Qatar in 2022.. he will be 37 years old chasing lost causes with a team who don't look like they are producing anymore great young players, will be such a sad end to a great career... Messi will be mid 30s but he can easily slot into the Xavi role and still be amazing into his 40s.
The gap between them has never been greater. Messi is scoring more goals now and has a better all-round game. So Ronaldo fans can't even bring up "Ronaldo is scoring more goals" now to defend him..
The more Ronaldo resists and tries to compete with Messi in Europe the more he will damage his legacy.. he needs to go play in the MLS or something.. do something different, turn a league or a team like Reading into something great. That is the only way he can one-up Messi, now. He's already won Serie A.. so just winning that every season will get boring, surely!? it's a poor league and as poor as the french league, if not poorer.
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What would those credentials be?
Winning an euro title in which both him and Portugal didn't play especially well and where he didn't even play the final? I'd say Messi's record of 3 Copa finals and 1 world cup final is at least as impressive as that, despite not winning neither of those finals (feck you Higuain). He has more goals in WC + Copa than Ronaldo does in WC + Euro despite also carrying almost all the creative burden for Argentina and playing far deeper. Also, Argentina plays far worse without Messi than Portugal does without Ronaldo. Ronaldo also plays significantly worse for his country than he does for club. I could go on but my point is, I really don't buy the argument that Ronaldo has had a significantly better international career than Messi.
Also the generic "Tried and tested in other leagues and teams". We've seen him against the elite teams of other leagues in CL for a long time and he has destroyed most. The idea that a player as complete and talented as Messi would become mediocre as soon as he switched team is ridiculous. And the period of greatest team of all time was 4 years in which he also won almost everything. After that, Real has had an equally impressive team, and I'd argue a better squad for a long time.
I'll cede that Ronaldo has had a better CL performance generally between the two, especially knockout stages. That said, Messi still has a better goal to game ratio than Ronaldo does and if Messi wins CL this year they'll be equal in amount of CLs won. Compare 1 more CL to Messi having 6 La ligas to Ronaldo's 2 (while both were playing in Spain) and 2 Copa del Rey's to Messi's 5.
And that is just from an achievement / trophy point of view. Even if Messi would win 3 CLs in a row now and overtake Ronaldo in amount of CLs handily, would I argue Messi is a better player because of that. If Higuain wasn't such a useless ape would I argue Messi is better than Ronaldo because he has a world cup and a Copa America. Knockout competitions involve a big amount of luck. I am saying Messi is better because if you look at the stats, and not trophies, Messi beasts Ronaldo in literally every aspect. They are both machines when it comes to goal scoring (about equal) but Messi trashes Ronaldo in literally every other aspect and produces GOAT numbers of assists, chances created, dribbles etc. And that's not mentioning soft factors as just the sheer amount of magic Messi produces vs Ronaldo, or that Messi is less reliant on his team than Ronaldo is.
You're trying to make the argument that one player who is equal to another player in one aspect, and worse in literally everything else (by some distance as well) is the better player.
I find it incredibly hard to understand how people can watch both Ronaldo and Messi and come to the conclusion that Ronaldo is better. Some crazy strong biases must be in place.
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1. “Messi’s record of 4 final losses while playing for a far superior team” ok so we are rewarding losing now? Ronaldo would have won AT LEAST 2 of those finals.
2. Ronaldo is just as good in Portugal top scorer of all time and constantly top scorer in any competition qualifiers or tournament for Portugal.
3. Also beating teams from other leagues while playing for a much better team that he has been in since practically birth is not the same as going to a new league, team,system, style of play.
4. Also I never said he would be mediocre in a another team but his record would not be as it is for Barcelona playing in a league where teams are very open and play attacking football.
5. They will have the same CL but one of Messi he literally got a participation trophy.
6. Lastly because talent is not everything I will cede to you Messi is the more talented of the two obviously but that does not make you a better PLAYER whether you like it or not when it comes to deciding goats intangibles are very important and there is no bigger big game player in football then Ronaldo. If your life or my life is on the line in a game of football and I can choose between 1 or the other to play for my team. I pick Ronaldo every single day. Look at Tom Brady and Michael Jordan as Examples. Also if you look st there careers from since his first year in Madrid until his last they are literally neck and neck Ronaldo probably even has the edge.
Also this does not mean there is a big difference i very much enjoy watching Messi play it is incredible and to me and people who can view this argument non bias will know they are very close as there careers shows.
Finally in the end it is OPINIONS. Mine is that Ronaldo is the best. Yours is that Messi is the best. The truth is the answer will only ever be known far and after they have retired.
2. Ronaldo is just as good in Portugal top scorer of all time and constantly top scorer in any competition qualifiers or tournament for Portugal.
3. Also beating teams from other leagues while playing for a much better team that he has been in since practically birth is not the same as going to a new league, team,system, style of play.
4. Also I never said he would be mediocre in a another team but his record would not be as it is for Barcelona playing in a league where teams are very open and play attacking football.
5. They will have the same CL but one of Messi he literally got a participation trophy.
6. Lastly because talent is not everything I will cede to you Messi is the more talented of the two obviously but that does not make you a better PLAYER whether you like it or not when it comes to deciding goats intangibles are very important and there is no bigger big game player in football then Ronaldo. If your life or my life is on the line in a game of football and I can choose between 1 or the other to play for my team. I pick Ronaldo every single day. Look at Tom Brady and Michael Jordan as Examples. Also if you look st there careers from since his first year in Madrid until his last they are literally neck and neck Ronaldo probably even has the edge.
Also this does not mean there is a big difference i very much enjoy watching Messi play it is incredible and to me and people who can view this argument non bias will know they are very close as there careers shows.
Finally in the end it is OPINIONS. Mine is that Ronaldo is the best. Yours is that Messi is the best. The truth is the answer will only ever be known far and after they have retired.
Ding ding ding we have a winner.
Very educated and informative contribution to the discussion. 10/10 for me man that was fecking great.
They really areHonestly don’t think Euros, WC or Copa Americas should be used. I was for a long time on the camp Ronaldo not because I didn’t liked Messi but because never liked the usual metric of the good boy vs the bad boy.
But if we look seriously without being biased there is only one segment of his game where Ronaldo is better, which is scoring from headers.
Don’t like to use the mentality, being more driven, expressive, or clutch or bottlers analogy because how do you measure that?
So it’s easy to say Messi will finish with more Individual awards and will be regarded as top 2 or 3 off all time, while the other probably top 10.
Of course there is always some biased judgements of a player, because dribbles more, more likeable, more friendly media. In the end it’s far to say Messi is playing at a individual level that probably no one played so far.
And I am not saying this based on the Champions League, it’s the season as a whole.
Of course here and there if I feel I have to punch the Messi lovers on this thread if they come here to bash Ronaldo I will do it.
On a friendly way.
People will never really appreciate how good George Best was, because it was a different era and there is less public record of him. But the fact of the matter is he was a genius and one of the greatest players of all time.
You forgot ³Qs:
How long since you made your professional debut?
How many times did you dribble half the team and score?
How many times did opposition fans give you a standing ovation?
This thread is basically the same 6 people arguing with each other for hundreds of pages.
It was with me he was talking and I never compared both players. It was a dumb analogy I made but I have my own opinion on that matter of course.
My point has more to do with recency bias. In general, I find it hard to compare players across generations. The only thing I can say for certain is that Messi and Ronaldo are the two greatest players I've seen in my lifetime (Maradona, Pele, Best, etc. being before my time so harder for me to personally judge).
What Messi did tonight, he hasn't done it since 2015.
But Ronaldo has been doing it every year from 2014 to 2019*
The revisionism is pathetic, Ronaldo has 4 or 5 performances as good or better than what Messi did against Liverpool, both Bayern games in 2017, Atletico 1st leg, Juventus in the final, Wolfsburg 2nd leg, PSG 1st leg, Juventus 1st leg in 2018 or Atletico 2nd leg this year
But Ronaldo has been doing it every year from 2014 to 2019*
The revisionism is pathetic, Ronaldo has 4 or 5 performances as good or better than what Messi did against Liverpool, both Bayern games in 2017, Atletico 1st leg, Juventus in the final, Wolfsburg 2nd leg, PSG 1st leg, Juventus 1st leg in 2018 or Atletico 2nd leg this year
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I’ve never read any comment in this thread but Messi has more goals than games against English clubs(the top 4 best( than games and people think he wouldn’t do it the league against huddersfield etc are mad.IMO best player of all time that’s a decent Barca side without him
I agree comparing players from today with players from 50 years ago it’s difficult to make. Only comparing the state of the pitches, the balls, training, tactical preparation, video analysis and so on is almost impossible.
In one of the top 2 teams in the world...We are talking about switching teams settings leagues players coaches etc. It is very different hence so many players have struggled when doing so throughout history.
Come on it’s obvious he would be by far the best player in any league.
Atrocious post filled with inaccuracies.
You do realize that we can apply the same argument to Maradona vs Muller?
Muller: Sir i am better than Diego because of the following: i have more trophies, especially at international level, i scored more goals, i scored more clutch goals, i scored more goals in the European cup, at a much better rate too, i was much better at headers. As a goalscorer, i have more records, in fact im one of the greatest goalscorers of all time, whereas Diego is not. I also scored more goals with my weaker foot. I was therefore better.
So there we have it once again, according to Cristiano fans, Muller was better than Diego.
Now for the inaccuracies. What is it with Cristiano fans and alternative facts?
If youre going to bring facts, you need to come correct. Leo has at least 33 La liga hatricks, not 28. He has 112CL goals (in 28 less appearances than Cristiano) not 100. Leo has at least 660 total career goals, not 603. I could go on but i have work shortly.
Is this really what Cristiano fans have resorted to, making things up now?
Disappointing.
Had he moved to the PL I'm certain he would have ended up at City under Guardiola which would be a very scary proposition indeed...Just imagine him instead of Sterling.
Wtf? Get some help really.
On Page 419, you said that this is the first year that Leo has been been better since 2014. Look it up.
Ill await your apology.
This hasn’t been a debate since 2012. Messi is the greatest player of all time even then. The things he does regardless of how many goals or assists are unprecedented. Never before has a player had mastery of the football like it.
I’d argue there could be an argument that would put him as the most talented individual of any sport ever since he impacts a team game so dramatically by his very presence. Roger Federer is a genius on the tennis court but I can’t say he stirs up the same emotion as watching Messi. A few other candidates in American sports maybe but only a handful of names at best.
I’d argue there could be an argument that would put him as the most talented individual of any sport ever since he impacts a team game so dramatically by his very presence. Roger Federer is a genius on the tennis court but I can’t say he stirs up the same emotion as watching Messi. A few other candidates in American sports maybe but only a handful of names at best.
Lads the only reason this poll is at 50/50 is because Ronaldo used to play for us. And I just voted Messi
Looks like you cannot vote anymore. Anyway Messi is the better player.
It's quite absurd isn't it, his extraterrestrial preeminence in so many aspects of attacking? Over the course of his career he has been a dribbler that's reckoned in the company of Maradona and Best...nonchalantly dissecting defensive organisations like a hot knife through butter, a final third passer that's every bit as good as Cruyff and Laudrup with 250+ assists in terms of pure numbers, a scorer of the caliber of Romário and Puskás, a free kick taker who's up there with Beckham and Zico, really. We've gotten to a point where things that are career highlights for certain players are but a mundane monthly feature for Messi. Won't delve into the whole vs. Ronaldo debate because the the latter has his own set of qualities and seems to possess the Brady/Jordan gene of absolute determination when the spotlight's shining on him, but in terms of pure and comprehensive attacking/playmaking majesty, there won't ever be someone as complete as the the little wizard — like, even when Messi's legs are completely gone, he'll just hang back as an old-school #10 and dictate the game with his golden touch and incisive passing range.
Another couple of seasons like this one and he'll be within striking distance of the All-Time League scoring records, too (currently on 417 La Liga goals)...
Seen both of them, neither one scored or played very well.
He has been better than Messi in the CL down the years, it's just funny seeing the Messi brigade getting all excited about this year after 3 years of utter Ronaldo domination in the CL.
Can you not be original? That post was stolen from somewhere else and is a copy and paste job.
The same post has been posted in this thread several times already.
Guys why are you replying to a copy and paste post?
Take the stats that favor Ronaldo and ask questions about only those questions.
Top 5 in no order:
Messi
Maradonna
Pele
Arya
Fat Ronaldo
Messi
Maradonna
Pele
Arya
Fat Ronaldo
BTW it's important to note that last night changed nothing.
Messi was a far better player than Ronaldo (who is a brilliant player, who has undoubtedly been the second best player of his generation) before last night, and he would still have been far better regardless of the result.
One 90-minute match in one competition cannot change this one way or another, just as winning trophies in a team sport is no reasonable way to measure the quality of an individual player.
You simply have to watch Messi and Ronaldo play, and then anyone objective will inevitably conclude that Messi is far superior.
Indeed, everyone credible already knows that Messi is better than Ronaldo. No-one who is paid to give a professional opinion on football - unless they are Portugese and concerned that Ronaldo won't give them interviews any more - will ever say that Ronaldo is better than Messi. Because you would lose all credibility if you said that, the simple reason being that Messi has so much more to his game, and contributes so much more than Ronaldo, which is the absolute essence of what a footballer is!
If you don't believe me then I can dredge up the lengthy list of people who have described Messi as the best of all-time in the media, and the two people who have described Ronaldo that way (one of whom was Ronaldo himself!) if required, but we all know that it's the case anyway, unless you literally never look at any media whatsoever, mute all game commentary and pundit comments, and avoid all coverage of football!
The only people who question Messi being better than Ronaldo are some unfortunate individuals, who somewhere down the line have decided that Ronaldo is their favourite player, perhaps because they're Portugese, or support Man United, and are unable to face up to the obvious reality that although Ronaldo is their favourite player, Messi is better.
At this point, where Messi is universally regarded as one of the top three players of all-time, and by many people the absolute GOAT, the mature and dignified thing to do would be to accept the situation.
I am a fan of Federer, or at least I admire his player and believe him to be the most talented tennis player ever. However, if Novak Djokovic or Rafael Nadal goes past his records then Federer will remain my favourite, but I will accept that Nadal or Djokovic deserves to be regarded as the best player ever.
Messi has long since demonstrated that his level on a football field is far above that of Ronaldo, and this is already known to be the case by players, ex-players, commentators, pundits, journalists; ie. the objective and the informed. Regardless of what anyone says now, Messi will go down as the greatest player of his generation, and the majority will regard him as the greatest footballer ever.
The mature human being would now accept this.
Messi was a far better player than Ronaldo (who is a brilliant player, who has undoubtedly been the second best player of his generation) before last night, and he would still have been far better regardless of the result.
One 90-minute match in one competition cannot change this one way or another, just as winning trophies in a team sport is no reasonable way to measure the quality of an individual player.
You simply have to watch Messi and Ronaldo play, and then anyone objective will inevitably conclude that Messi is far superior.
Indeed, everyone credible already knows that Messi is better than Ronaldo. No-one who is paid to give a professional opinion on football - unless they are Portugese and concerned that Ronaldo won't give them interviews any more - will ever say that Ronaldo is better than Messi. Because you would lose all credibility if you said that, the simple reason being that Messi has so much more to his game, and contributes so much more than Ronaldo, which is the absolute essence of what a footballer is!
If you don't believe me then I can dredge up the lengthy list of people who have described Messi as the best of all-time in the media, and the two people who have described Ronaldo that way (one of whom was Ronaldo himself!) if required, but we all know that it's the case anyway, unless you literally never look at any media whatsoever, mute all game commentary and pundit comments, and avoid all coverage of football!
The only people who question Messi being better than Ronaldo are some unfortunate individuals, who somewhere down the line have decided that Ronaldo is their favourite player, perhaps because they're Portugese, or support Man United, and are unable to face up to the obvious reality that although Ronaldo is their favourite player, Messi is better.
At this point, where Messi is universally regarded as one of the top three players of all-time, and by many people the absolute GOAT, the mature and dignified thing to do would be to accept the situation.
I am a fan of Federer, or at least I admire his player and believe him to be the most talented tennis player ever. However, if Novak Djokovic or Rafael Nadal goes past his records then Federer will remain my favourite, but I will accept that Nadal or Djokovic deserves to be regarded as the best player ever.
Messi has long since demonstrated that his level on a football field is far above that of Ronaldo, and this is already known to be the case by players, ex-players, commentators, pundits, journalists; ie. the objective and the informed. Regardless of what anyone says now, Messi will go down as the greatest player of his generation, and the majority will regard him as the greatest footballer ever.
The mature human being would now accept this.
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