Is Cristiano Ronaldo better than Lionel Messi?


Is Cristiano Ronaldo better than Lionel Messi?

The debate of who is a better player between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi is the most controversial topic in football and arguably in Sports as a whole. As football fans, indeed, the names of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are no longer strange to any one of us. Both are great monuments with outstanding personal marks and achievements.

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Over time, this debate has evolved from whom is a better player to who is the Greatest of All Time otherwise referred to as the GOAT. Some regard Lionel Messi as the greatest footballer of all time, while others think that Cristiano Ronaldo is the greatest footballer of all time. However, if we put our emotions and favoritism aside and focus on stats & reality we will realize that Ronaldo is surely ahead in the GOAT debate.

Cristiano Ronaldo is a more complete player

Cristiano Ronaldo tribute to son
Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo is a much more complete player than Lionel Messi. Ronaldo is strong on his right foot, left foot, and head. Messi on the other hand is only strong on the left foot.

His prowess in jumping and heading balls perfectly has even earned him names like CR7 Airways amongst others. Ronaldo is also very skillful, and as we saw in his early days at Sporting Lisbon, Manchester United, and Real Madrid he is a dribbler and playmaker.

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Ronaldo is such a complete player that he is dangerous in every minute of the game. This is exemplified by him being the first player in the history of football to score in every single minute of the 90. Additionally, Ronaldo currently has an incredible 57 career Hat tricks scoring 9 PERFECT Hattrick in the process compared to Messi’s zero-perfect Hattrick.

Cristiano Ronaldo is a more prolific Player

Ronaldo currently has 813 career goals compared to Messi’s 759. Ronaldo is also the all-time leading goalscorer in the Champions League, and the most prolific international goalscorer with 115 goals on the international stage for his country compared to Messi’s 80 goals.

Cristiano Ronaldo is a clutch player

A Clutch player is a player who performs under pressure and turns up in big moments. Ronaldo is a good example of a clutch player as he consistently performs on the big stage compared to Messi who ghosts sometimes.

Cristiano Ronaldo has won more at the highest level

Cristiano Ronaldo is a player who has proven himself in three top leagues in the world winning at the highest level for both Club and Country.

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While Messi can boast of winning more trophies at Barcelona and now at PSG, he has not replicated such form outside Barcelona, especially with his National team Argentina who he has captained to 4 final defeats including the 2014 FIFA World Cup and Copa America where he missed a crucial spot-kick which cost his country the trophy.

Ronaldo on the other hand has replicated his insane form at Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Juventus while also captaining his National team to two International trophies including the 2016 European Championship which was their first-ever major international trophy.

Ronaldo is better at set play

Set play is very important as it helps teams win games. Set play in the football context consists of Penalty, Free kicks, and Corner kicks.

Ronaldo is the master of Set play/piece. This is backed up by the fact he has scored an incredible 143 penalties compared to Messi’s 102. It is worthy to note that Messi has scored only 77.8% of penalties taken compared to Ronaldo who has scored over 83%. Ronaldo’s consistency in scoring from the Penalty spot has led to rival fans naming him ‘Penaldo’.

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Ronaldo currently has 55 freekick goals compared to Messi’s 54. This is particularly impressive when you consider 37-year-old Ronaldo’s decline in taking and scoring free-kick over the past 4 years in contrast with Messi who’s nearly caught up with him thanks to his consistency in scoring free-kicks over the past 4 years.

Finally on Corner kicks, while Ronaldo doesn’t take Corner kicks he is a major threat from Corner due to his incredible jumping ability and powerful heading which has seen him score hundreds of goals from Corners and Set play.

Read more: Cristiano Ronaldo might make a fairy-tale return to Real Madrid as the Los Blancos seem to bring their superstar back this summer: Reports