Here we go again expecting from a wide forward/winger to dictate or control the game. Anyway, the great example of Ronaldo playing well without the great G/A was 2006 where he was pretty impressive. He made the most dribbles in that World Cup and was Portugal's best player against Zidane's France in the semis.
And he had plenty of iconic performances for Portugal. And yes, those performances against Netherlands and Czech Republic were iconic, especially against Netherlands given that they were an active World Cup runner up at that time. If you take into consideration how his team was average and barely lost to prime Spain, it makes it even more impressive. You also had hattrick against Spain in 2018 and his performance against Hungary in 2016 Euro was definitely iconic as well. 2 goals, one of them being a ridiculous back heel goal plus an additional assist.
2014 WC qualification where he single handedly dragged Portugal to the World cup against Sweden.
Fair enough, but I said that he (the original poster) should've have been mad at the players who joined City and not the player who "almost" did. All of thosr players players are now pundits and have pretty strong opinions on Utd (bar Tevez) while Ronaldo generally very rarely comments on Utd these days.
Well, it was you who tried to strawman me the whole time and act in the bad faith. Let's leave it just at that, no point at "arguing" with you anymore.
In that case Erik, maybe would be better to not bring Messi time and again, it's unecessary man, it's the CR thread and since day one they might not be players taht should be compare as much as they are.
Since he is already brought, when young Messi was forced to play as a wide forward or winger, also was a lot more involved and with better capabilities regarding creating for his team, this differences are precisly the ones that for some Messi is a better player, with or without WC, with more or less goals, even with more or less assists (yes even this). For a lot of people, a player that brings all of these and as a plus scores like a prolific striker (for many in the history of the game, this wasn't even needed it to be called a GOAT) would just be a superior player and more in the mold of previous so called GOATS (or close to it) like Alfredo, Ferenc, Pele, Johan, Platini, Zico, Maradona, Zidane, even R9 that actually it's a more reasonable player to compare with CR. Even in this last case, the individual dribbling capability and power of the Brazilian makes him a fella that not few people will preffer above CR or even anyone.
I've read the other post, I agree at some points, others we are not going to agree at all, yet to summarize with what I wrote above and what I've said before that CR will live and die by his own sword, it's that precisly for playing almost always as a goalscorer (no mater role) to gain his GOAT status, he'll be (fair or unfairly) judged by those. In fact Messi that could have been a player scoring half of what he already did (or even less), was in many ways dragged to such goalscorer comparison for virtue of his own capabilities, but also in virtue of the tedious constant comparison. Sthg. that was never asked for even a Franz (who BTW wasn't precisly in the mold of the GOAT alike fellas mentioned in the first paragraph) when the majority of people put him above Gerd in the same period of the game.
So basicly, what I'm trying to say it's that since maybe R9?, dunno, there is more space and a stronger backup, narrative, to consider mostly goalscorers as the (always silly) Best Ever tag. In R9 case mostly because of how great he was even as a forward to incline a game through his pace, power and talent (with the always welcome quote of "magic").
CR has benefited more from this stats, goalscoring output tendency, than Messi in the tedious comparison between both, but it's also a trend that if manteins could even affect his preception and biting in his arse if for instance Erling ends scoring 2000 (just an hiperbole to make a point). Being for me the Norwegian, quite a lesser player overal than CR and to a point a better, or more clinical gaoslcorer.
Basicly to complain about bringing to the table atributes from Messi because it's not what is demanded for CR in his role (leaving even aside if he actually can do it), should start with a complain of why on hell thay have been compared since day one.
For me the main reason both were compared since a very early age, it's not even just their goalscoring, their obvious special talent, longevity and drive...
it's becasue of where they've played.
Madrid needed their anti Messi (and CR delivered in the greatest of fashions, even with his declarations and approach), CR was also before that the EPL Poster boy against La Liga and this extra with the explosion of social media and the huge ammount of trolling and over the top nitpicking analysis game by game created a rivalry that goes (wrongly) beyond the actual characteristics of the players involved. One might wonder what would be the view of both if they never were rivals and played in the same team. In any case, the one that will be more perjudicated in a more stat oriented angle will be Messi, not Cris. In fact even if at times is appreciated a great game of Messi not scoring, still there is a "but" whenever he does not score, or even worse, does not assist, while many times in the history of the game players with his style and atributes weren't judged in such nit picking style and quite a tad unfair angle.
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