Just walk off the pitch midgame
Cristiano Ronaldo - 971/1000
- Thread starter Bastian
- Start date
"The target is now.... 2000 goals." Screamed an impassioned Cristiano Ronaldo during his team's 1-0 lead going into the 83rd minute, before the match ended in a 1-3 loss.
Asked when he expected to reach this new record, a weary Ronaldo processed the question for sixteen minutes before replying that he estimates it will take no more than 2,776 years.
But, tonight, Ronaldo sits in his cryo chamber, recharging his exoskeleton, wondering what could have been had his team won tonight's Universe Cup 2363 against the Galacticos of Alpha Centauri, captained by legendary footballer turned vacuum robot Lionel Messy.
He'll score that at some point next season but probably finish the season and finally retire. There could be Nations League final in June 2027 so he may go for that as well if Portugal reach the final.
That is technically impossible since they played at the same time.
My argument is that the Saudi League has already shown its pull by attracting the reigning Ballon d’Or winner right after his best season at Real Madrid.
You mentioned Messi winning the Ballon d’Or while playing in MLS, but that award was not based on his performances there: it was mainly due to the World Cup and his time at PSG.
So it doesn’t really reflect the level of MLS.
If we look at China as a comparison, the biggest name they attracted was probably Oscar from Chelsea.
In contrast, the Saudi League now has several players at that level, and quite a few with significantly stronger careers.
Of course, the Saudi League won’t become elite overnight, if ever. But right now, it clearly has more high-level players and coaches than MLS—that was my original point.
With the financial power they now have, combined with the global visibility brought by Ronaldo, they’re able to attract top players.
And when you have five or six teams filled with proven European talent and experienced coaches, the league inevitably becomes competitive - and at the very least, entertaining.
The Saudi League has good players in certain teams. Most teams have totally unknown people in their squads. The games are pretty bad, full with mistakes, so many empty seats it's terrible.
MLS is more well balanced when it comes to teams, and it's not suported by the government. SPL is in a bubble that is going to blow someday, sooner or later, just like it happened with China. Players went there for the money, not CR7.
Benzema's best season which he won the BO for was 21-22. He joined the Saudi league a full year later summer of 23 after a somewhat middling season.
Messi actually joined the MLS the year directly after his BO-winning season (22-23, which was also a middling season for him outside of the WC).
For the record, I don't think any of this matters at all, but your whole argument is completely twisted.
Al-Nassr: Cristiano Ronaldo, João Félix, Sadio Mané, Kingsley Coman, Marcelo Brozović, Jhon Durán, Martínez.
Al-Hilal: Karim Benzema, Darwin Núñez, Rúben Neves, Theo Hernández, Yassine Bounou, Kalidou Koulibaly, João Cancelo (loaned to Barcelona), Sergej Milinković-Savić
Al-Ahli: Ivan Toney, Riyad Mahrez, Merih Demiral, Galeno, Roger Ibañez, Franck Kessié, Edouard Mendy, Enzo Millot
Al-Ittihad: Youssef En-Nesyri, Moussa Diaby, Fabinho, Houssem Aouar, Danilo Pereira, Steven Bergwijn, Roger Fernandes, George Ilenikhena
Al-Qadisiyah: Julián Quiñones, Mateo Retegui, Otávio, Nacho Fernández, Julian Weigl, Nahitan Nández
Beyond these squads, you still have players like Alexandre Lacazette, Abdoulaye Doucouré, Ousmane Dembélé, Georginio Wijnaldum, Chris Smalling, Santiago Mosquera, Joshua King, and others spread across the league.
There are also high-profile coaches such as Brendan Rodgers, Sérgio Conceição, Simone Inzaghi, Christophe Galtier, and Matthias Jaissle.
When I look at MLS, by contrast, I see top scorers this season like Hugo Cuypers, Petar Musa (who was a third option at Benfica), and Sam Surridge.
With the exception of Inter Miami, there are very few players who have achieved anything of real significance in major European leagues.
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Benzema won the Ballon d’Or on October 17, 2022, and moved to Saudi Arabia in July 2023.
At that point, he was still the reigning Ballon d’Or holder: so there’s nothing misleading about my argument.
I hope his 1000th goal is really ugly. A poor hit, followed by a goalkeeper mistake and a 5 minute VAR review, in an away game where 90% of the spectators already have left the stadium. And then Ronaldo shits himself from anticipation and his toupée falls off.
Do you, do you really?
I absolutely love that some people dislike this guy and try to show it every second they can.
It makes me know about their own personality than Ronaldo's personality.
It's like in high school where the hot guy gets all the girls and all the uncool guys are in the corner with their glasses on hating at him from a distance.
There's ultimately a reason you guys are not Ronaldo and will never be Ronaldo. You can pretend you never want to be just to make yourself feel better!
Keep going you legend, you deserve everything you've earned.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is one of the most narcissistic players ever, yet United fans talk about him like they could always use a player like him but detest Ronaldo.
Very happy to see how much attention this guy gets when he should be getting the opposite.
Like you've fallen in to a trap but you can't see it
It makes me know about their own personality than Ronaldo's personality.
It's like in high school where the hot guy gets all the girls and all the uncool guys are in the corner with their glasses on hating at him from a distance.
There's ultimately a reason you guys are not Ronaldo and will never be Ronaldo. You can pretend you never want to be just to make yourself feel better!
Keep going you legend, you deserve everything you've earned.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is one of the most narcissistic players ever, yet United fans talk about him like they could always use a player like him but detest Ronaldo.
Very happy to see how much attention this guy gets when he should be getting the opposite.
Like you've fallen in to a trap but you can't see it
At this point I take their posts as Saudi PR and put them on ignore.
I absolutely love that some people dislike this guy and try to show it every second they can.
It makes me know about their own personality than Ronaldo's personality.
It's like in high school where the hot guy gets all the girls and all the uncool guys are in the corner with their glasses on hating at him from a distance.
There's ultimately a reason you guys are not Ronaldo and will never be Ronaldo. You can pretend you never want to be just to make yourself feel better!
Keep going you legend, you deserve everything you've earned.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is one of the most narcissistic players ever, yet United fans talk about him like they could always use a player like him but detest Ronaldo.
Very happy to see how much attention this guy gets when he should be getting the opposite.
Like you've fallen in to a trap but you can't see it
This must be satire
It must be. And if not, then I hope that it was my post that triggered him.
He has valid points in general comparisons and the demerit they tend to create, yet he just can't recognize that at a certain point Cris made quite a lot helping to be the subject of various puns. Not that peopel taht dislike any player needs any help, yet in hsi case, he tends to give a hand.
Yet the lad is in a crusade. Plus he forgot Muller and Son in MLS that made some noise in Europe. In any case I agree that the Saudi League has better names, some teams have fellas that can still be very competent anywhere and on the other hand the MLS has at least some college and Mexican/South American influence that creates a better know how in the background, we'll see if they start to actually attract young Brazilian, Uruguayan and Argie players in the future instead of Mexico, Brazil or Europe, as the more frequent destinations. That would make them become better (as an argie I'm not that thrilled, I'm tired of loosing players to other leagues).
In any case both leagues in terms of actual development are in diapers (even if the USA one goes back to COSMOS and such) and has a lot to work in their youth development to become stronger or better said, with better games in general. After all, football is football (almost) everywhere. Even with fellas as Falcon doing their thing and cia in both leagues, there is quite a good share of stamina and physical demanding conditions in both. It really should not be sthg to talk much about, the most important aspect if we are talking about Cristiano and Messi is how fit they are, how are they playing, because even at whatever level they are, they are still making their thing with lots of younger fellas around with or without exprience not doing the same, in a way that also does not make them look out of place in International football so far.
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Donald J Trump gets this kind of attention, if not more than CR7. It must be DJT's haters' personality...he must be the hot guy in school!I absolutely love that some people dislike this guy and try to show it every second they can.
It makes me know about their own personality than Ronaldo's personality.
It's like in high school where the hot guy gets all the girls and all the uncool guys are in the corner with their glasses on hating at him from a distance.
There's ultimately a reason you guys are not Ronaldo and will never be Ronaldo. You can pretend you never want to be just to make yourself feel better!
Keep going you legend, you deserve everything you've earned.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is one of the most narcissistic players ever, yet United fans talk about him like they could always use a player like him but detest Ronaldo.
Very happy to see how much attention this guy gets when he should be getting the opposite.
Like you've fallen in to a trap but you can't see it
Donald Trump is the most powerful man in the world. Next?
I'm also narcissistic by the way! Nothing shameful about it. Some of us feel we always want to look good, be admired by others, have the best car, show off our good looking partner, have the life that other people can only dream of.
It's a quite common aspect of people who are successful in life. That does not mean they are not caring - it's the aspect that if you don't pay attention and be happy yourself then you cannot help others.
Ronaldo is clearly past his prime, but is still Portugal's best striker. It's not like they have Harry Kane up front and Ronaldo's causing Kane to sit on the bench.
Goncalo Ramos might make Portugal a well rounded team, but in return it will need Portugal to score more from midfield and wingers like Leao & Neto because Goncalo Ramos is not even playing games for PSG and yet people think he should be the automatic starter?
He clearly wants to have a go at the WC before he retires. He feels like he has something left in the engine, and to me the best engine and mentality I've ever seen in the history of football and a willingness to conquer the world, the stats, the data, the damn body he built going from a skinny kid to Drogba was more of a transformation of mentality than just physicality to conquer the PL and he is still reaping its benefits.
Then he is like 50 or something goals away from scoring 1000 goals. Why the f*** would someone retire. That's like someone telling you to study for a degree and you not taking a final exam you know that you can pass easily after doing years of hard work.
Some people are narcissistic and some people are not. Having tough self centred targets in life can heavily influence if people are narcissistic or not.
It's Portugal's FA or Roberto Martinez's problem for falling for C Ronaldo wanting to win a WC - It's not like Ronaldo should just give off his shirt and retire if there was no need to.
I've got not idea if Portugal fans think of this the same way, but C Ronaldo is Portugals best ever player & possibly influenced the rise of Portugal as a footballing nation as a whole. The European Cup. Maybe its a pure coincidence, but the rise in quality of Portuguese players post Ronaldo is huge & ive heard many Portuguese players talk about how important Ronaldo is to them and their career. All of a sudden the mini generation after Ronaldo is looking like one of the favourites if not the favourites to win the WC aswell.
Many people posting Instagram pictures of their trip to Peru with their partner just to get 10 likes so they feel better for themselves. Ronaldo does that buy scoring 1000 goals in his life.
That's what he tells himself in the bathroom mirror each morning before deciding how to ruin the world even more.
I absolutely love that some people dislike this guy and try to show it every second they can.
It makes me know about their own personality than Ronaldo's personality.
It's like in high school where the hot guy gets all the girls and all the uncool guys are in the corner with their glasses on hating at him from a distance.
There's ultimately a reason you guys are not Ronaldo and will never be Ronaldo. You can pretend you never want to be just to make yourself feel better!
Keep going you legend, you deserve everything you've earned.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is one of the most narcissistic players ever, yet United fans talk about him like they could always use a player like him but detest Ronaldo.
Very happy to see how much attention this guy gets when he should be getting the opposite.
Like you've fallen in to a trap but you can't see it
This the latest power ranking derived on analysis from Opta. As you can see it doesn't really seem those names has really lifted the entire quality of the league as much as some tout.
1 Premier League
2 Serie A
3 La Liga
4 Bundesliga
5 Ligue 1
6 Brasileirão Série A
7 Primeira Liga
8 Eredivisie
9 Belgian Pro League
10 MLS
11 Argentine Primera División
12 Championship
13 Turkish Süper Lig
14 Scottish Premiership
15 Austrian Bundesliga
16 Swiss Super League
17 Danish Superliga
18 Liga MX
19 Russian Premier League
20 Ukrainian Premier League
21 Greek Super League
22 Czech First League
23 Croatian First Football League
24 Serbian SuperLiga
25 Norwegian Eliteserien
26 Swedish Allsvenskan
27 Polish Ekstraklasa
28 J1 League
29 K League 1
30 Chinese Super League
31 Saudi Pro League
2 Serie A
3 La Liga
4 Bundesliga
5 Ligue 1
6 Brasileirão Série A
7 Primeira Liga
8 Eredivisie
9 Belgian Pro League
10 MLS
11 Argentine Primera División
12 Championship
13 Turkish Süper Lig
14 Scottish Premiership
15 Austrian Bundesliga
16 Swiss Super League
17 Danish Superliga
18 Liga MX
19 Russian Premier League
20 Ukrainian Premier League
21 Greek Super League
22 Czech First League
23 Croatian First Football League
24 Serbian SuperLiga
25 Norwegian Eliteserien
26 Swedish Allsvenskan
27 Polish Ekstraklasa
28 J1 League
29 K League 1
30 Chinese Super League
31 Saudi Pro League
In any case it's just silly to discuss so much both leagues and BTW I dunno think that Ranking painsta very credible picture. Maybe in terms of infraestructure, money involved, dunno, but seems a tad weird
Part of me would like to meet this guy in real life just to see what he's like
I meant Moussa Dembélé, the striker, not the PSG player, obviously. Funny how that’s the only thing you picked up from everything I wrote.
We’d be in awe at how good looking he is I’m sure.
I don't think there was much of anything to discuss in your post so I naturally gravitated towards the enormous mistake. And yeah, putting the current Ballon d'Or winner in a random et cetera pile is one.
I’m just replying to people quoting or mentioning my post: I’m not even Catholic, let alone on some crusade.
Ronaldo can be annoying at times and he’s not exactly the sharpest tool in the box. But you can’t question his commitment, discipline, or his obsession with being the best.
In a sport where you see talents like Neymar, Dele Alli, and even Ronaldinho (to an extent) go to waste, I genuinely admire his work ethic.
The same applies to Messi: at 37/38, he’s still the heart and soul of Argentina.
This is a forum, so we’re supposed to argue our points, and it’s healthy to disagree.
What I find odd - and what I originally pointed out - is the lengths some people go to discredit Ronaldo. It almost feels personal.
Sure.
Ah I see you worship DJT too!
Probably wearing a MAGA hat and a CR7 Suiiii Shirt, chanting "never seen before, greatest of all time"
Why are all these Ronaldo feckwits the same?
Why do their heads look fake?
I apologize in advance for the noncomprehensive rant.
A lot of people dislike him on a personal level. He's a narcissist that has continuously proved that he doesn't care about anyone other than himself (something that a fanbase of a club that he has played for, on two different occasions, would be particularly vulnerable to), he can't help but praise himself in every interview that he does (and he does a lot of them), often by bringing up the same shallow and one-sided arguments that are then getting reshuffled by his fanbase (even the "he's beautiful" one that we've seen a few posts above us), he keeps company with some of the most despicable human beings on the planet Earth that actively bring said planet to chaos and destruction... yeah, he's extremely committed to his craft but it doesn't make him likable as a person.
But back to the second point, for the majority on here and in general, it's Cristiano who is the only one that truly keeps the awfully boring debate of Messi vs Cristiano alive. In a good way — by trying to up his own game year after year or, like he does nowadays, to find new and creative ways to prolong his career... and in a bad way, by creating superficial arguments like stating that the first guy to reach 1000 goals in history (insert another one of those ultimately pointless records) is therefore the greatest player ever. And by keeping this discussion alive, he keeps alive the comparison with a more talented and, frankly, a better player, which doesn't really work wonders for his reputation (although, in an odd way, it works both ways — if he's comparable to Messi, he should be in contention for being the greatest ever, right?). And by chasing those shallow records, especially by doing it in such a comical (for the last few years) fashion, he also doesn't improve his reputation in the eyes of those who don't already consider him to be the greatest player, scratch it, human being to ever exist. And it's funny to watch him chasing those numbers.
He is one of the greatest players ever who would've been by a large margin the greatest player of his generation if he wasn't as unlucky (although in all likelihood he wouldn't have reached such heights without an adversary of this calibre — and the same is true for Messi). His mentality and willingness to work on himself is basically unparalleled in the history of this sport — maybe by a handful of individuals like Zanetti but neither of those also had his level of natural talent to compliment that. In reality, what he does and doesn't do in Saudi league should not in any shape or form influence people's perception of his career though, regardless of how many chances he'll squander there, how many penalties will the league gift him or if he'll finally reach his goal of a 1000 goals (there's little doubt that he will, he'll not retire before it). Same goes for Messi & MLS. Why should we pretend then that the level of play — especially defensive one — in Saudi league isn't laughably bad? Especially since the majority of their stars are, well, attackers, which is the nature of such leagues — given the choice you'll always sign a shiny forward (even on the bring of retirement) and not a reliable centre back. His contribution to the game doesn't magically go into the next tier like it does in video games when he scores another 30 goals.
But back to the second point, for the majority on here and in general, it's Cristiano who is the only one that truly keeps the awfully boring debate of Messi vs Cristiano alive. In a good way — by trying to up his own game year after year or, like he does nowadays, to find new and creative ways to prolong his career... and in a bad way, by creating superficial arguments like stating that the first guy to reach 1000 goals in history (insert another one of those ultimately pointless records) is therefore the greatest player ever. And by keeping this discussion alive, he keeps alive the comparison with a more talented and, frankly, a better player, which doesn't really work wonders for his reputation (although, in an odd way, it works both ways — if he's comparable to Messi, he should be in contention for being the greatest ever, right?). And by chasing those shallow records, especially by doing it in such a comical (for the last few years) fashion, he also doesn't improve his reputation in the eyes of those who don't already consider him to be the greatest player, scratch it, human being to ever exist. And it's funny to watch him chasing those numbers.
He is one of the greatest players ever who would've been by a large margin the greatest player of his generation if he wasn't as unlucky (although in all likelihood he wouldn't have reached such heights without an adversary of this calibre — and the same is true for Messi). His mentality and willingness to work on himself is basically unparalleled in the history of this sport — maybe by a handful of individuals like Zanetti but neither of those also had his level of natural talent to compliment that. In reality, what he does and doesn't do in Saudi league should not in any shape or form influence people's perception of his career though, regardless of how many chances he'll squander there, how many penalties will the league gift him or if he'll finally reach his goal of a 1000 goals (there's little doubt that he will, he'll not retire before it). Same goes for Messi & MLS. Why should we pretend then that the level of play — especially defensive one — in Saudi league isn't laughably bad? Especially since the majority of their stars are, well, attackers, which is the nature of such leagues — given the choice you'll always sign a shiny forward (even on the bring of retirement) and not a reliable centre back. His contribution to the game doesn't magically go into the next tier like it does in video games when he scores another 30 goals.
It's like a cult
Yeah, it's quite noticeable that they usually have similar views in other aspects of life.
You’re either trolling or just a massive virgin. I’d imagine it’s more likely to be the latter.
Great post, even if I do not agree on everything
Side note: Messi might have gotten annoyed at times with what the Social media and press created around both, but he never looked that invested in winning against Cristiano, and always looked more invested in just winning, he is a pretty bad loser for all accounts even if in the past he kept it more in his inner self and lately more advocate of expose himself in an even more Maradonian style closer to the kiddo in Rosario. I have no doubt that Cris and his followers with some declaratiosn might have gotten under the skin, yet it's more about actually winning no matter if it was Real (worse case scenario) or any other team than his.