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Thinking about the same.This is like updating a thread every time Paul Scholes scores in a 5-a-side.
Brilliant goalscorer and one of the best but scoring there doesn’t tell anything.
Thinking about the same.This is like updating a thread every time Paul Scholes scores in a 5-a-side.
There's a reason why Maradona, Cruyff, Zidane, Platini, Rivaldo, Zico, Messi, Pele, Modric are all comparable to each other and seen as among the greatest ever that's because in football playmaking, creativity, passing, dribbling are seen as among the most attractive qualities in addition to goal scoring. Shot power, weaker foot, heading accuracy are all minor sub-categories, what does GOATesque heading mean))? Who cares?
Imagine equating playmaking with heading)) not comparable to major categories I listed. You can find tens of players equal to Zidane's playmaking then with so-called "GOATesque heading" if we refer to your logic)) It is like listing through balls, long balls as seperate major categories for Pele, Maradona etc.. Ronaldo is not comparable to any other in those major categories..
You're right, that flick Scholes did in that 5-a-side was genuinely impressive.
Don't be an ass. You know, as well as I do, that any goals scored in Saudi or elsewhere are officially recognized by FIFA - like it or not
Ooooh lovely sexy statistics. Yummy Internet fodder for childish arguments.
This is BS. We have Stoichkov, Hagi, James Rodriguez, Modric, Forlan showing masterclass WC performances with their above average teams in the WC. Ronaldo performed terribly in the 5 WCs. That Portugal team you are downgrading won against France in Paris "without Ronaldo" in 2016 EC final. Imagine calling teams with Figo, Rui Costa, Deco, Carvalho, Pepe, Pauleta average.. Portugal team in the most recent Euros and WC was easily a top 4-5 team of the tournament.1.Yes, But if you make that argument you should make the argument in favour of Cristiano playing for Portugal, The only ATG player that had to face teams above his NT ELO ratings on consistent basis, Based on difficulty level an argument could be made that for Cristiano to perform against Sweden/Czech Republic etc was as hard as it was for Maradona to perform against Germany, Italy or Brazil. Also, Madrid wasn't a european powerhouse circa 2008-2009, It was a dark era in the club, Full of managers rotation, Inefficient transfers and overall failure on the european stage.
2.Seria A golden era only started during the very late 80s, Period in which Maradona declined athletically. According to ELO ranking it was the 3rd best league in the world when prime Maradona was active, In Cristiano case he played in the best league in the world *In every single season during his prime*, Add that to the difficulty considerations too.
Maradona led Napoli to Serie A title twice.. Ronaldo can only dream of doing that, 2 league titles in 9 years with super team Real under some of the greatest managers of all time is not something to be proud of, I'm afraid..3.Questionable at best, Cristiano raised the floor significantly, Increased the goal output of Madrid by over 50%, Increased LaLiga points tally by almost 20-30% on average and on the contribution in the Champions League i shouldn't even elaborate, Cristiano surpassed Maradona's international club career by the time he was 24.
Put Maradona under SAF at United or Real with superb players at all positions and then see what happens. You are conveniently ignoring the super-teams reality and how much that affects output. Ronaldo shows everything we need to know about his capabilities when he plays for Portugal at WC and against great NTs. I wonder what happens to him in the WC.. Oh ok, you need to put prime Benzema, Modric, Kroos, Marcelo, Ramos, Casemiro so that he can perform.. or put Giggs, Scholes, Tevez, Rooney, Keane, Rio, Vidic etc. so that he can perform under SAF..On prime/peak, What do you consider Maradona prime and peak and how could they stand against 2010-2014 Cristiano? In terms of performance, stats, impact, influence and overall capabilities as a player? To me no stretch of 5 seasons is equal to what Cristiano produced during the early 2010s
Platini is much more capable player than Ronaldo. Ronaldo is no match to him in terms of playmaking or dribbling or passing or creativity. His NT performances are epic unlike Ronaldo who tends to disappear with the NT. That stat padding thing is what Ronaldo is known for.Muller and MVB were nowhere near peak Cristiano level, This is outrageous take.
Beckenbauer is invalid comparison.
Platini wasn't as capable player as Cristiano. Zico was a very capable player but he played his best years in south america, The level of competition was way way lower (He also was notorious statpadder against the worst teams in Brazil).
Brazilian Ronaldo was not on peak Cristiano level, I elaborated on that months ago and have no interest in continuing that discussion again. But that one isn't that absurd of a take so fair enough.
Look, there's no objective metric you can use to place Zidane above Ronaldo in a GOAT ranking, and that applies regardless of how "attractive" Zidane's game was.
That your post wasn't challenged is exhibit A of how ridiculous the conversation around Ronaldo in this thread has gotten. Zidane??
This. And the difference in quality between the 4 teams that Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund took ownership over and the rest of the league, is like comparing PL teams to League Two teams. The team Al-Nassr played yesterday spent only £2.75m on transfers this whole window.Especially when they are accompanied by players such as 2022 Ballon D'or 2nd Mane, Serie A best midfielder Brozovic, Laporte etc,
Like it or not, the World Cup is the pinnacle of the sport and Zidane was far better in that arena than Ronaldo. Yes, Ronaldo has scored a ton of goals and won the CL four times, but Madrid proved after he left that the team was good enough to win the CL with or without him.Look, there's no objective metric you can use to place Zidane above Ronaldo in a GOAT ranking, and that applies regardless of how "attractive" Zidane's game was.
That your post wasn't challenged is exhibit A of how ridiculous the conversation around Ronaldo in this thread has gotten. Zidane??
GoalscoringYou wrote all of that and refused to answer what Ronaldo does on the field better than Maradona besides running faster and jumping higher.
This is BS. We have Stoichkov, Hagi, James Rodriguez, Modric, Forlan showing masterclass WC performances with their above average teams in the WC. Ronaldo performed terribly in the 5 WCs. That Portugal team you are downgrading won against France in Paris "without Ronaldo" in 2016 EC final. Imagine calling teams with Figo, Rui Costa, Deco, Carvalho, Pepe, Pauleta average.. Portugal team in the most recent Euros and WC was easily a top 4-5 team of the tournament.
Again pure BS. Juventus (twice) and Rome all played CL finals between 1980-1985. Which league was better than Serie A during that time?
Imagine talking about difficulty level and conveniently ignoring the fact that Ronaldo played for the "super teams" of the era with or without him under the greatest managers of the last 30 years at United under SAF, at Real under Mourinho, Ancelotti, Zidane, even Alegri at Juventus. I wonder what would happen to his legacy if he played for Tottenham under average managers.. I also wonder how Maradona would benefit from working with SAF type of managers..
Maradona led Napoli to Serie A title twice.. Ronaldo can only dream of doing that, 2 league titles in 9 years with super team Real under some of the greatest managers of all time is not something to be proud of, I'm afraid..
Put Maradona under SAF at United or Real with superb players at all positions and then see what happens. You are conveniently ignoring the super-teams reality and how much that affects output. Ronaldo shows everything we need to know about his capabilities when he plays for Portugal at WC and against great NTs. I wonder what happens to him in the WC.. Oh ok, you need to put prime Benzema, Modric, Kroos, Marcelo, Ramos, Casemiro so that he can perform.. or put Giggs, Scholes, Tevez, Rooney, Keane, Rio, Vidic etc. so that he can perform under SAF..
Maradona's 86 WC performance is above and beyond anything Ronaldo has done in his career.
Platini is much more capable player than Ronaldo. Ronaldo is no match to him in terms of playmaking or dribbling or passing or creativity. His NT performances are epic unlike Ronaldo who tends to disappear with the NT. That stat padding thing is what Ronaldo is known for.
As for Muller, he is a greater goal scorer than Ronaldo, no question. Nobody is as clutch as Muller when it comes to goal scoring, the guy just never disappoints.
That's your extremely subjective opinion. Ronaldo passes the eye test well enough for him to be the most admired player on the planet, The most influential attacker in the last 40 years and the one that most modern wingers modelled their game after. "Ronaldo not passing the eye test" was always the most insane notion to me, Fine, I can get exceptions to the rule, But to claim so confidently that it's some kind of consensus is just plain wrong and borderline toxic take. In reality your take is obscure one that even if we give an aesthetic judgement the full decisive role it would be taken as a weak point because it'll be part of the small and loud dissensus.Like it or not, the World Cup is the pinnacle of the sport and Zidane was far better in that arena than Ronaldo. Yes, Ronaldo has scored a ton of goals and won the CL four times, but Madrid proved after he left that the team was good enough to win the CL with or without him.
Of course Ronaldo is a great player, but his level is honestly much closer to someone like Zidane or Romario rather than a Messi or Pele who not only have the numbers, but the biggest prize in the game and were simply better to watch. The obsession with stats these days is strange, I don't remember anyone ever comparing a goalscorer like Van Nistelrooy to a player like Ronaldinho back in the day because people actually used their eyes, not numbers, to judge players.
That's your extremely subjective opinion. Ronaldo passes the eye test well enough for him to be the most admired player on the planet, The most influential attacker in the last 40 years and the one that most modern wingers modelled their game after. "Ronaldo not passing the eye test" was always the most insane notion to me, Fine, I can get exceptions to the rule, But to claim so confidently that it's some kind of consensus is just plain wrong and borderline toxic take. In reality your take is obscure one that even if we give an aesthetic judgement the full decisive role it would be taken as a weak point because it'll be part of the small and loud dissensus.
Like it or not, the World Cup is the pinnacle of the sport and Zidane was far better in that arena than Ronaldo. Yes, Ronaldo has scored a ton of goals and won the CL four times, but Madrid proved after he left that the team was good enough to win the CL with or without him.
Of course Ronaldo is a great player, but his level is honestly much closer to someone like Zidane or Romario rather than a Messi or Pele who not only have the numbers, but the biggest prize in the game and were simply better to watch. The obsession with stats these days is strange, I don't remember anyone ever comparing a goalscorer like Van Nistelrooy to a player like Ronaldinho back in the day because people actually used their eyes, not numbers, to judge players.
Ronaldo would look like a greek god playing against the defences Maradonna played against. The dope lord was great but against modern defences he'd look like Bernado Silva.
I'm guessing most 38 year old semi-retired CL-quality strikers could score that many if all the games they play have the intensity of a friendly.
Not sure either of those leagues are comparable to the Saudi league.I guess no examples then?
Rooney surely didn’t score near half as many when he was 34 at MLS.
Van Persie didn’t score near half or as many when he was 33-34 at Turkey either.
And they don’t even last anywhere near age 38.
And that’s 2 of our greatest striker in our recent history.
You are forgetting a certain someone here, aren't you?That's your extremely subjective opinion. Ronaldo passes the eye test well enough for him to be the most admired player on the planet, The most influential attacker in the last 40 years and the one that most modern wingers modelled their game after. "Ronaldo not passing the eye test" was always the most insane notion to me, Fine, I can get exceptions to the rule, But to claim so confidently that it's some kind of consensus is just plain wrong and borderline toxic take. In reality your take is obscure one that even if we give an aesthetic judgement the full decisive role it would be taken as a weak point because it'll be part of the small and loud dissensus.
Does moving to a league in country that murders journalists, kills refugees, practices slavery, funds terrorism, and more for a lot of money enhance your reputation?
Sure none of those leagues have both current Ballon D’or winner and 2nd place playing there ever.Not sure either of those leagues are comparable to the Saudi league.
MLS and the Süper Lig are miles better than the Saudi League. And Zlatan was bagging goals at that rate in the MLS at 37-38.I guess no examples then?
Rooney surely didn’t score near half as many when he was 34 at MLS.
Van Persie didn’t score near half or as many when he was 33-34 at Turkey either.
And they don’t even last anywhere near age 38.
And that’s 2 of our greatest striker in our recent history.
Sure none of those leagues have both current Ballon D’or winner and 2nd place playing there ever.
By the way Benzema only manage 3 goals in 6 games in Saudi this season so far. Mane has 3 goals in 9 games. Mahrez has 1 goals in 3 games. Ronaldo has 9 goals in 9 games, more than those 3 players combined.
MLS and the Süper Lig are miles better than the Saudi League. And Zlatan was bagging goals at that rate in the MLS at 37-38.
If you think playmaking is a much more important part of the definition of peak then why doesn't Ronaldo's 2008 season rank higher for you?
Also why would you also say then that Muller had also a higher peak than him?
He was not a pure penalty box player in that time, that's absurd and a myth that continues. In any case let's assume he was, in that case he was so good at that that he brute forced through some of the best defences in the world and had outputs equaling what Maradona, Messi and Pelé could do with all their all around playmaking and scoring. Basically his scoring ability was so good, the peak was so high, that he didn't need to do anything else, that was enough to break even the best defenses of the world. Isn't this a comparable peak?
I can answer for him if you want: Ronaldo had better off the ball movement, shot power, better weaker foot, better heading accuracy and offensive positioning in the area.
Maradona was almost unplayable with his dribbling, vision and passing.
Ronaldo was almost unplayable with his ability of being good at pretty much everything (even if maybe being only a GOATesque level in heading and off the ball movement). You don't know how to defend him when he could dribble you, run past you, shoot outside the area, wait and jump over you in a cross or just lose him for a second when not in possession then he already got in place to finish before you can react).
Huh? Saudi is doing a form of money laundering, though what it is attempting to launder is its reputation. It's doing this by paying these players astronomical amounts to play there. Still, Filipino women, Africa men who go to work in Saudi get their passports taken from them, often receive no pay, and live in forms of modern slavery. Yemen has many refugees from Africa. When Saudi bombed Yemen, many of these refugees fled across the border to Saudi Arabia only to be shot in cold blood.Now that the Saudis managed to secure som big past it names and handful of good players he can boast about doing it in the saudi pro league at 38.
Well correct me if I am wrong but you’ve clearly suggested most 38 years semi-retired quality CL striker could score that amount of goals too, then how do you explain the likes of Benzema only score 3 goals in 6 games, Mane score 3 goals in 9 games, and Mahrez scores 1 goals in 3 games so far in Saudi this season then?MLS and the Süper Lig are miles better than the Saudi League. And Zlatan was bagging goals at that rate in the MLS at 37-38.
They are all playing in same competitions. It’s valid comparison in whatever means you want to stretch it as “friendly”.Saudi League only has been played for 3 games. The other were mere friendlys.
All is measured by goals now, what a pathetic way to see football.
This thread, much like Messi in Miami, should be for fans of the players to enjoy their favorites for a final few years. But neither fanbase should really try to use their exploits in these two atrocious leagues to make any sort of point. They've chosen to give up on serious football leagues and can't be considered serious footballers anymore. Messi though, could still easily have played for a top team but he's chosen a joke league (which is fair for him given he's won the World Cup now).
You know there must be at least something in his favour if he manage to win 5 CL as top scorer of competitions and being all time top scorer in football history, other than just “being carelessly wasting attack at times” as you’ve described.So you said better off the ball movement and then offensive positioning in the area which is pretty much the same thing. The movement Maradona did and Ronaldo did off the ball are categorically very different, so I wouldn't even use that in Ronaldo's favor.
It's like saying Ronaldo has better off the ball movement than Xavi. The movement the 2 of them will do on the field is fundamentally very different, so I find it pointless to compare that aspect.
He has better shot power, but not really sure that's entirely relevant. Ronaldo has a stronger shot than Messi too, but I wouldn't even use that as a point in his favor when he was popping off almost 7 shots per game during his pomp and carelessly wasting attacks at times.
You know there must be at least something in his favour if he manage to win 5 CL as top scorer of competitions and being all time top scorer in football history, other than just “being carelessly wasting attack at times” as you’ve described.
I don’t fully agree. Maradona is far superior in dribbling, passing and playmaking, that’s no debate there. But apart from that, everything else is debatable.Something in his favor over Maradona?
He runs faster, jumps higher and is a bigger goal threat in the box.
In general, Maradona trumps him in everything else. That's not really an indictment on Ronaldo like some think.
Well correct me if I am wrong but you’ve clearly suggested most 38 years semi-retired quality CL striker could score that amount of goals too, then how do you explain the likes of Benzema only score 3 goals in 6 games, Mane score 3 goals in 9 games, and Mahrez scores 1 goals in 3 games so far in Saudi this season then?
You know Ronaldo has already scored 9 goals in 9 games this season. Far better that all other 3 combined together. And since they are all nowhere near 38 and they are all clearly least to say “semi-retire quality CL striker or goalscorer” according to your claim, they should be all easily scoring that amount of goals too, if not better. No?
So is he 38 year old then? Did he score any of 1 those goals as 38 year old? Or just 1 goal as 38 year old? Why do you have to back off from the original claim and lie?Hamdallah is a top goalscorer in that league and scored 114 goals in 116 games (almost a goal a game) and is the current top scorer in the league. Does this make him better than Benzema. Mane, Mahrez etc. too?
I wonder why PL, La Liga teams have not shown any interest in "Hamdallah the great" so far and also why Al Nassr sits close to the bottom.
Already 28 goals in 32 games in 2023. Not many 38 years old could score that many.
I'm guessing most 38 year old semi-retired CL-quality strikers could score that many if all the games they play have the intensity of a friendly.
So is he 38 year old then? Did he score any of 1 those goals as 38 year old? Or just 1 goal as 38 year old? Why do you have to back off from your claim and lie?
Just let me remind you once and for all, that’s my original post:
And here’s your claim:
Yeh that’s my mistake, my apology. I saw an H and thought I am talking to same person all the while. But such confusion only happened when you suddenly get into middle of our conversation. My mistake thoughI guess you confused me with another poster, check who you are quoting before accusing people of lying..