Cristiano Ronaldo - 973/1000

Xeque_279 said:
Never been his strongest trait :lol:

Tbh to him, not many come close in terms of "completeness". Speed, dribbling, poaching, long range shooting, free kicks, aerial strength, both footed, clutch gene. What's left?
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He has an argument for being the most complete goal scorer of all time, sure. Though Pelé was the same

The most complete player? Let's see how well he does as a CB? Fullback?

There will never be another Alfredo Di Stefano in that regard
 
he might be the most complete striker of all time, although I think he stays behind pele in that regard

As for the most complete player it’s not even close and we know who that is.

Anyways, it’s sad for Ronaldo’s mental health this spiral he is getting into. He’s going to be insufferable talking about himself for the next 50 years at least.
 
He change the culture of top athlete preparedness. He created a personal brand, biggest in the world of sports. He went after success in every location and environment. He highlighted the need to focus on winning, competing and being the best with no excuses. He placed himself as an example for the younger generations. He even raised a big family. He is immensely successful in every venture he is in.

I don't know about complete, but he is the most influential footballer in the history of the sport. And the one who made the most impact in society. Humility is much more needed to those who keep dissing him, all of them who belong to the 99.9% of the men in our society who are far below his achievements.
 
Wand of a right foot said:
He is complete as a pure goalscorer but never as a forward. What he lacked:
1. Never a truly elite dribbler
2. Average at playmaking
3. Was never a team player

Completeness would be elite at dribbling, passing/playmaking, and goalscoring. Out of these, he is elite only at goalscoring. His free kicks have been very inconsistent.
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1. Come on now, young CR7 was one of the best dribblers in the league. It's after that knee injury that his game changed so much.

2. & 3. That comes with him being the elite goal scorer he is although I do think his playmaking was underrated. Again, young CR7 had that in his locker.
 
cirilus said:
He change the culture of top athlete preparedness. He created a personal brand, biggest in the world of sports. He went after success in every location and environment. He highlighted the need to focus on winning, competing and being the best with no excuses. He placed himself as an example for the younger generations. He even raised a big family. He is immensely successful in every venture he is in.

I don't know about complete, but he is the most influential footballer in the history of the sport. And the one who made the most impact in society. Humility is much more needed to those who keep dissing him, all of them who belong to the 99.9% of the men in our society who are far below his achievements.
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Typical Facebook fanboy comment. Next thing you'll say is he cures cancer.
The bit about raising a big family is the best part really.
 
Ronaldo not being an elite dribbler is one of the more bizarre things I've ever read. The guy dominanted the premier league playing from the wing and his game was based on his dribbling and dribbling at speed. Can only assume the poster didn't watch football before 2018.

Just gonna leave this here:



Ronaldo not being an elite dribbler is probably one of the most embarrasing things i've read on this forum. Might as well say Beckham couldn't cross.
 
iHicksy said:
Ronaldo not being an elite dribbler is one of the more bizarre things I've ever read. The guy dominanted the premier league playing from the wing and his game was based on his dribbling and dribbling at speed. Can only assume the poster didn't watch football before 2018.

Just gonna leave this here:

Ronaldo not being an elite dribbler is probably one of the most embarrasing things i've read on this forum. Might as well say Beckham couldn't cross.
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Him saying he's the most complete player in history is the most embarrassing thing I've read anywhere. Just accept you lived in an era where there was someone better than you mate, why is that so hard to accept (not even talking about Maradona and Pele here). The guy is probably among the best 5 players of all time and somehow that's not enough for him. What a sad mentality.
 
giorno said:
He has an argument for being the most complete goal scorer of all time, sure. Though Pelé was the same

The most complete player? Let's see how well he does as a CB? Fullback?

There will never be another Alfredo Di Stefano in that regard
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No need to go back to Di Stefano, Messi still plays and is a way more complete player than Ronaldo. Thinking that most complete player means playing as CB or FB is a truly bizarre take.
 
RedMessiah said:
No need to go back to Di Stefano, Messi still plays and is a way more complete player than Ronaldo. Thinking that most complete player means playing as CB or FB is a truly bizarre take.
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The most complete player is the one who can do the greatest numbers of things - thus is capable of playing effectively in the greatest number of roles and positions

Gullit, was a more complete player than Messi, for example
 
Aside from the fact that his ego would want him to do everything, Ronaldo has all the attributes to be a terrific defender to be fair.
 
Wand of a right foot said:
He is complete as a pure goalscorer but never as a forward. What he lacked:
1. Never a truly elite dribbler
2. Average at playmaking
3. Was never a team player

Completeness would be elite at dribbling, passing/playmaking, and goalscoring. Out of these, he is elite only at goalscoring. His free kicks have been very inconsistent.
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Someone never saw him play pre-Madrid it seems.
 
giorno said:
The most complete player is the one who can do the greatest numbers of things - thus is capable of playing effectively in the greatest number of roles and positions

Gullit, was a more complete player than Messi, for example
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Come on, this is a United forum, the obvious example here is O Shea, who could score worldies, make a mug of Figo in midfield, defend at the highest level and save a shot like he was Gordon Banks.
 
TrailMonkey said:
https://www.footboom1.com/en/news/f...e-greatest-i-am-the-most-complete-player-ever

According to Ronaldo himself, he’s the most complete player in the history of the game and nobody is better.

Stay humble eh
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Pele was more complete. Better dribbler, better passer, as good as, if not better in the air, better goalscorer and better with his left foot.

Messi is not as good with his weak foot and not as good in the air, but better at everything else, including goalscoring.

Maradona was also not as good with his right foot and in the air, and was obviously not a goalscorer in the same way (except earlier in his career). But his ability on the ball, his dribbling, passing and playmaking was leagues ahead of Ronaldo.

The guy is delusional, but of course, his millions of acolytes will buy into it. Posterity will sort things out though, he will not be remembered as the greatest, no matter how much he self-proclaims.
 
CG1010 said:
Someone never saw him play pre-Madrid it seems.
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For much of his career though he wasn’t elite at goal scoring, playmaking and dribbling, you’re talking maybe less than 20% of his career where he combined it and 80% he was one or the other. He was also never really a great team player even in his United peak, Rooney did a lot of donkey work for him. He was also once a decent free kick taker who turned into a terrible one. But Ronaldo will like to conflate different parts of his career to turn himself into this super player.

It’s like if you combined late 30s Giggs’s ability to pick out a pass and gave it to 20 year old Giggs’s pace, you’d have a monster player but they were different types of player. Or combining 20-year-old Bale and 30-year-old Bale and saying he was an all-action left-back who scored for fun.

Anyway to be a complete player I think you have to be able to defend as well? So someone like Matthaus who could score 16 goals in a league but also man mark Maradona is more complete imo. Rooney at his peak was more complete that Ronaldo I think. Benzema the season he won the Ballon d’Or was more complete than Ronaldo was for his last 4-5 seasons at Madrid. Not necessarily better, but more involved in the game and more complete I’d say.
 
Xeque_279 said:
Never been his strongest trait :lol:

Tbh to him, not many come close in terms of "completeness". Speed, dribbling, poaching, long range shooting, free kicks, aerial strength, both footed, clutch gene. What's left?
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Handsome face and chiseled abs
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Nogbadthebad said:
Come on, this is a United forum, the obvious example here is O Shea, who could score worldies, make a mug of Figo in midfield, defend at the highest level and save a shot like he was Gordon Banks.
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Don't forget the last minute equaliser against away at the world champions Germany, quite simply the most complete footballer ever, without doubt.
 
Hopefully he gives up the pretence once he retires. Nobody with any sense considers him the greatest of all time now. And he was pretty complete as an attacker, but as a footballer? No chance. Complete means you can defend, and be able to slot into defence or as a CM.
 
Was looking up an article on Ronaldo's free-kick record, he's outside the top 180 for conversion rate in European leagues. From 2006 to 2024, he took 492 free-kicks which was twice as much as anyone other than Messi. If you imagine giving any kind of top-level forward 492 attempts on goal from a free-kick, you'd probably fancy them to score quite a few. Then 67 attempts at World Cups and Euros and 1 goal I think it was?

It's funny because his old team-mates Rooney and Tevez have better records than him at free-kick conversion. Eden Hazard, Ozil, Neymar, Griezmann too but you don't really get people or them bigging up how good they are at free-kicks.
 
CG1010 said:
Someone never saw him play pre-Madrid it seems.
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This is the response i always get when i say he wasn't an elite dribbler. I watched him from his debut vs Bolton all those years ago. I'd break down his career as a dribbler in 3 phases:
1. 2003 to 2006: he attempted alot of dribbles but lost the ball alot too, ran into blind alleys, did pointless tricks etc Every once in a while comes a player who does this but i dont consider it elite because it is counterproductive. Truly elite dribblers, create something out of nothing or unbalance the opposition, something Ronaldo never did.

2. 2006 to 2014: Good dribbler, completed around 2 to 2.8 dribbles per game depending on season; more in counter attacking phases. But still not elite because of the numbers (compare unfavourably to truly elite dribblers like Messi, Neymar and Hazard). The tricks were still pointless mostly but reduced in number.

3. 2014 onwards: not a dribbler, more a goalscorer than anything else.

As for playmaking: It was never a bow in his arrow. Neither was team play. He was decent at freekicks early on but not in the greatest category.

I don't see how he was ever a complete forward. More like a complete goalscorer.
 
Xeque_279 said:
1. Come on now, young CR7 was one of the best dribblers in the league. It's after that knee injury that his game changed so much.

2. & 3. That comes with him being the elite goal scorer he is although I do think his playmaking was underrated. Again, young CR7 had that in his locker.
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He wasnt. He attempted alot of dribbles and failed alot too. People rewrite history because of what he achieved later on. He used to be crticised ALOT back in the day so much so that people even wanted him gone.

He was never a playmaker or a team player; it was always about him and his ego. He never tracked back when playing ob the wing, attempted to take impossible shots etc.
 
He should at least win a few major trophies or some personal accolades before making outrageous claims like that
 
Xeque_279 said:
1. Come on now, young CR7 was one of the best dribblers in the league. It's after that knee injury that his game changed so much.

2. & 3. That comes with him being the elite goal scorer he is although I do think his playmaking was underrated. Again, young CR7 had that in his locker.
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This injury is always brought up but I've never reaf anything substantial on it. What kind of injury was that and how did it affect the dribbling ability of probably the most professional player ever in his mid 20s?
I mean, there are players who suffered ACLs and they still are world class dribblers.

Because I think Cristiano's change in style was deliberate and not forced. He wanted to double down on hos goal scoring record and tuned down all elements of his game that didn't contribute to it.
 
SirAF said:
Exactly. And Ronaldo is actually one of those rare humans who can back up their arrogance with achievements! It’s not a bad thing, it’s only bad when incompetent people start giving it large.
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It's not that the "issue" with him. Even if actually it's not an issue and he can do whatever he wants. And nope, he can't backup everything he has said, he talks quite a bit too much (I'm not talking about him considering himself the best).

He lacks the talent to make it funny most of times he praises himself (like Zlatan, Pele, Romario, Ali, Maradona could, even if not every time). He is constantly doing it and more than confidence starts to show as being insecure that if you don't say it nobody would (and it isn't even the case).
He also talks too much about him evrytime being perjudicated while not being true, he constantly threws shadow on other former or current players that some people consider better than him and last like any human being, he has been extremely contradictory with his declarations.
The problem in his case it's that he has been extremely public with those contradictory views time and again to a level that looks closer to a political satire parody than a football player talking about the game and his talent.
 
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SirAF said:
Exactly. And Ronaldo is actually one of those rare humans who can back up their arrogance with achievements! It’s not a bad thing, it’s only bad when incompetent people start giving it large.
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:lol: truly pathetic
 
Kwabs said:
Pele was more complete. Better dribbler, better passer, as good as, if not better in the air, better goalscorer and better with his left foot.

Messi is not as good with his weak foot and not as good in the air, but better at everything else, including goalscoring.

Maradona was also not as good with his right foot and in the air, and was obviously not a goalscorer in the same way (except earlier in his career). But his ability on the ball, his dribbling, passing and playmaking was leagues ahead of Ronaldo.

The guy is delusional, but of course, his millions of acolytes will buy into it. Posterity will sort things out though, he will not be remembered as the greatest, no matter how much he self-proclaims.
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Out of interest how old are you?

Pele might be all of those things but unless you were alive to see him in his pomp and actually went along to a number of his games it is incredibly hard to make that statement with such certainty. There is not that much footage of Pele playing and what exists is of very limited quality making it next to impossible to judge him against contemporary players. I am not saying he was not great but this is an argument that has been going on amongst real scholars of the game for a while now, much of his legend is received wisdom rather than objective assessment, his acheievements were incredible but came in a far less professional era for the sport. To state with such certainty that he is essentially better at everything than Ronaldo is bizarre unless you have extensive first hand knowledge.
 
I can get behind the idea that his dribbling never was Elite in the sense of being comparable with the likes of Pele, Zico, Maradona, Messi, genius alike fellas or even trully specialists and lesser players than him, even if just my opinion....yet, he was ELITE in his dribbling at any period.
Elite ain't just a 20 club Member Society, there are/ were lots of great to awesome dribblers at any period of the game, Cris was great at it, even if he wasn's for me from the upper upper echelon.
The main thing it's that for me he never had the ultimate control of the situation many phenoms in dribbling had and that's why his best dribllings are those taking on a single or couple of fellas near the rival net wehere he creates some magic and instantly blasted to the net, that was his best asset in regards of driblling in my opinion.
 
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Zehner said:
This injury is always brought up but I've never reaf anything substantial on it. What kind of injury was that and how did it affect the dribbling ability of probably the most professional player ever in his mid 20s?
I mean, there are players who suffered ACLs and they still are world class dribblers.

Because I think Cristiano's change in style was deliberate and not forced. He wanted to double down on hos goal scoring record and tuned down all elements of his game that didn't contribute to it.
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Everything Ronaldo said yesterday and before backs this up as well. He said ‘nothing matters other than numbers’ and the above quoted tweet for example. Hazard for example was the exact opposite, he said he didn’t care about stats and numbers and then retired after an injury as he didn’t care anymore/had no numbers to chase. Their outlooks on the game reflect their styles. I believe Ronaldo would have minimised his game regardless.
 
I used to compare him to Djokovic who also has a similar obsession and drive to be the best, and he takes decisions about his whole life accordingly.

I now think that’s a little unfair to Novak. He has a much more legitimate claim to say he’s the best and most complete tennis player of all time. There’s still a debate and subjectivity there, but he can back it up with a lot of evidence. Yet he is actually, at least in the latter parts of his career, more graceful in defeat than Ronaldo ever was, and dare I say more humble, some wacky beliefs aside. Ronaldo really is insufferable.
 
cirilus said:
He change the culture of top athlete preparedness. He created a personal brand, biggest in the world of sports. He went after success in every location and environment. He highlighted the need to focus on winning, competing and being the best with no excuses. He placed himself as an example for the younger generations. He even raised a big family. He is immensely successful in every venture he is in.

I don't know about complete, but he is the most influential footballer in the history of the sport. And the one who made the most impact in society. Humility is much more needed to those who keep dissing him, all of them who belong to the 99.9% of the men in our society who are far below his achievements.
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Nice to see his sister on the caf!
 
cirilus said:
Humility is much more needed to those who keep dissing him, all of them who belong to the 99.9% of the men in our society who are far below his achievements.
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The guy had to pay hush money to an alleged rape victim. His ability to kick a ball doesn't outweigh that when you're comparing him to other men in society.
 
cirilus said:
He change the culture of top athlete preparedness. He created a personal brand, biggest in the world of sports. He went after success in every location and environment. He highlighted the need to focus on winning, competing and being the best with no excuses. He placed himself as an example for the younger generations. He even raised a big family. He is immensely successful in every venture he is in.

I don't know about complete, but he is the most influential footballer in the history of the sport. And the one who made the most impact in society. Humility is much more needed to those who keep dissing him, all of them who belong to the 99.9% of the men in our society who are far below his achievements.
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Raising a big family is hardly that big a complement when you're ultrafit, use surrogate mothers and ultra rich.
 
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