Funny thing... Modric was my first pick followed by Casemiro and... Marcelo
Real Madrid’s best player of the last decade?
- Thread starter Pogue Mahone
- Start date
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik and Imran hold a long overdue conversation about United's awful league form with 1 win in 7. They discuss a disappointing draw at Bournemouth, a not so disappointing draw against Liverpool and a crushing defeat at Chelsea - Is time nearly over for Erik Ten Hag?
Then in a special second half of the pod, Nik welcomes Natalie ( https://twitter.com/natalie_17) to discuss the fortunes of Manchester United Women as they booked a place in the FA Cup Final after a historic first ever win vs. Chelsea.
Benzema says hi
To be honest, if this thread even mildly irritates hardcore Ronaldo disciples (like you) then I consider starting it a truly excellent use of two minutes of my time
Ronaldo, Benzema then Modric in that order.
1. Ronaldo
2. Benzema
3. Modric
2. Benzema
3. Modric
You build teams around your best players. Ronaldo is Real Madrids greatest ever player.
Real Madrid are the perfect example of a club that got worse when Ronaldo left, though. His goal output was missing for three whole seasons.
I recognize that was what you set out to do which makes it even more tragic. You’re a grown man.To be honest, if this thread even mildly irritates hardcore Ronaldo disciples (like you) then I consider starting it a truly excellent use of two minutes of my time
Indeed I am. Even older than your hero. If only he and I both aged as gracefully as Luka Modric, eh?
Ronaldo.
You and Ronaldo. You, Pogue Mahone on the caf, and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Who else? Only Di Stefano is in the running surely, a goalscorer whose goal record was obliterated by Ronaldo.
Raul for his all longevity and adoration was nowhere near that level.
Funny how much of a battering Ronaldo's legacy has taken this year.
We can all justifiably hate Ronaldo, but he is not just their best player of the last decade but of the best of Real player of all time. There is only one answer to this debate.
I say Iker Casillas, Karim Benzema, Marcelo Vieira, Sergio Ramos, and Luka Modric, in that order.
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Eden Hazard on his way to become the biggest.
He's not
Alfredo DiStefano says hi. You know, the guy who won 8 La Liga titles and 5 straight European Cups
Modric deserves a shout here. Over 450 appearances for the club, 5 UCL's, 3 La Liga's...
Ronaldo
You mean the player you've never seen play?
Ronaldo is an all time great regardless, and one of the best I've been able to see.
Fábio Coentrão
Another question would be is Gareth Bale the best golfer to have played for Real?
I have watched some matches of his (most notably the 1960 European Cup final; one of the greatest games ever, check it out), but that's not the point. He is Real Madrid's greatest ever player according the club and many of the fans.
Royston Ricky Drenthe.
Interesting to see you use the word emotional. I can see your post history with emotional outbursts with conspiracy theories about referees wanting to fix matched for Argentina. And random desultory insults in other threads whenever your hero is critiqued.
If we're talking the last ten years, Ronaldo was only there for half of that time. I'd say there was a bit of decline in his last two seasons there as well, although obviously he was still scoring a ridiculous amount of goals. So overall I'd give it to Modric, with Benzema and Ramos not far behind.
Unless the question is who hit the highest heights, in which case it's obviously Ronaldo.
Unless the question is who hit the highest heights, in which case it's obviously Ronaldo.
It's still enough to put him at the top if his peak if sufficiently higher than the next best player, and he played a significant stretch.
I remember these debates happening with basketball (about whether Shaquille O'Neil was the best player during the 2000-2010 decade) and in that case, he was clearly the best player during the first 3 years of that decade and a top 2 player during another 2 years.
I don't think someone needs to play a full decade as a prerequisite to be labelled the greatest player during a 10 year stretch.
I agree that it wouldn't need to be the full decade. But when it's only 50% of that decade and then comparing him to somebody like Modric who himself spent most of that decade as the best midfielder of his generation and probably second best of the last 25 years (Xavi being the best)...it starts to have an impact. At least it does for me. Obviously different people will weight those things differently though.
Thinking about it more I'm not sure about keeping Benzema and Ramos ahead of Ronaldo though. Benzema had a very rough few seasons for a while there, and Ramos himself was struggling in his last season and left two seasons ago. So Ronaldo's five seasons might still keep him ahead of their seven seasons or so of good performances.
Yeah I wasn't necessarily saying he is at the top of the list; I was merely sharing my thoughts on what seems to be a requirement by many when making these "all decade" lists. But yes, Modric is my pick for the best player over the past 10 years as well.
Modric used to play for Spurs back in the day. He was brilliant then. 310 apps for Madrid. My heart would go with the little man.
Ronaldo's 311 goals however in 292 apps is insane so going with my head it would have to be CR7.
Ronaldo's 311 goals however in 292 apps is insane so going with my head it would have to be CR7.
I’d say it was the player with 4 Balon Dor wins
I think Cristiano was clearly the best Madrid player up until 2014 or so. His crazy goal scoring record in the CL KO stage afterwards outshone a little bit that his overall gameplay had regressed. I'd say that period of his career would been seen as "less great" if he had developed straightly into this player because many who just saw the highlights still thought he players like in his early 20s. For me, it's a bit like the de Bruyne/Haaland situation currently where one player scores a shitloads of goals but offers little outside of it and one who is brillant in different aspects.
Worth mentioning by the way that Modric joined Madrid in 2012/13 and they won La Decima the following season. He continues to win CLs with them to this day, even after Cristiano left. It's crazy to think about it, but considering Modric won 5 UCLs in his 10 seasons, he has a 50% success rate with Madrid while Ronaldo won 4 in 9. Modric also won two La Liga titles without Cristiano and three overall while Cristiano only won one without Modric and two in total. So I believe it is not a ridiculous notion to see Modric ahead of him all things considered over the last decade.
Worth mentioning by the way that Modric joined Madrid in 2012/13 and they won La Decima the following season. He continues to win CLs with them to this day, even after Cristiano left. It's crazy to think about it, but considering Modric won 5 UCLs in his 10 seasons, he has a 50% success rate with Madrid while Ronaldo won 4 in 9. Modric also won two La Liga titles without Cristiano and three overall while Cristiano only won one without Modric and two in total. So I believe it is not a ridiculous notion to see Modric ahead of him all things considered over the last decade.
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Not interested in yet another CR discussion, but...
Casemiro was meant to be their water carrier. feckin'ell.
Casemiro was meant to be their water carrier. feckin'ell.
I've been critical of Ronaldo but without a doubt he's the greatest player in Madrid's modern history. You can't take that away from him even though he's a cnut.
Ramos.
Yep, you have a more profound appreciation for the individual and collective qualities of recent Madrid teams when one of the “lieutenants” joins your club and instantly becomes a galvanizing force.
- Marcelo: arguably the most skilled offensive leftback of all time.
- Ramos: without a doubt the most impactful footballer from central defensive positions in the last decade (if not more).
- Carvajal: massively underrated, like Casemiro; probably the best rightback of the post-Alves/Lahm era.
- Casemiro: water carrier, but also maybe the best defensive midfielder of this era after Busquets?
- Kroos: still going strong, consummate architect and one of their best performers this season (if not the best).
- Modrić: Top 5 central midfielder of all time, hard to argue against that ranking at this point?
- Cristiano: Top 5 player (or at least forward) of all time?
- Benzema: rightly acknowledged as one of the best and most well-rounded center forwards of modern football now.
Pele