Cristiano Ronaldo Dos Santos Aviero and Leonel Andres Messi are two of the greatest footballer players the world has produced since the times of Pele and Maradona. As both men spent their prime years playing for rival sides in Spain with Cristiano playing for Real Madrid and Messi for Fc Barcelona an intense rivalry exists between not only their own fans but all football fans over which player is better.
Their rivalry is perhaps the most famous rivalry in existence due to their immense popularity. This popularity has emerged over time as more and more people tuned in to watch Messi and Ronaldo play against one another in all competitions whether it be La Liga, The Champions league or the world cup over time the world became invested in their competition.
Now in the twilight of their careers we can look back and see the accolades of the duo with them together winning a combined total of 76 major trophies. They are the only two players who have scored more than 800 goals for club and country.
Critics debate over the who is the better player while the stats lean towards Messi as he has won more trophies scored fewer goals but, in less time, having played 140 fewer games than Ronaldo. Some critics argue that Ronaldo’s dominance between 2014-18 where he won the Champions league 4 times in a row and won the Balon D’or a prestigious title given to the best footballer in every year except 2015 and 18 where he was runners up to Messi.
Ronaldo’s personality and leadership capabilities make him the better player overall in the eyes of some. Argentina’s recent world cup win has tipped the scale towards Messi in the eyes of many.
The fanbases of the two combined amass to around 1 billion people while Ronaldo is the most followed personality on Instagram with 593 million followers Messi is not far behind at second at 480 million followers.
Despite their rivalry being a hot debate between fans Messi and Ronaldo do not have any negative feelings towards one another both of them have spoken of the rivalry as a driving force for them to perform better and there is clearly no ill will between the two.
However recently Ronaldo has stated how he believes that "The Saudi league is better than MLS." With Messi now playing in the MLS and Ronaldo in the Saudi league this shows the competition is still going strong between the pair.
With Messi joining the MLS side Inter Miami and Ronaldo in the Saudi side Al-Nasser it is being described by fans and pundits alike as an end of an era as for the first time in 20 years neither Messi or Ronaldo will be playing at the highest level of club football.
The last match between the duo was a friendly between Messi’s Paris Saint-Germain and Ronaldo’s Al-Nasser but this outing is very likely the last time we see the two players face one another on the field.
Now football is searching for its new rivalry to replace Messi and Ronaldo but with new offside rules coming to football the game will be changed one way or another making the achievements of Messi and Ronaldo truly one of a kind. Some people have even said that Mbappe vs Haaland is the successor to Messi and Ronaldo’s rivalry.
It is impossible to recreate the rivalry that existed between the duo in their prime no one has come close in any way. Whether it be stats or popularity Messi and Ronaldo are on another level.
Their rivalry is perhaps the most famous rivalry in existence due to their immense popularity. This popularity has emerged over time as more and more people tuned in to watch Messi and Ronaldo play against one another in all competitions whether it be La Liga, The Champions league or the world cup over time the world became invested in their competition.
Now in the twilight of their careers we can look back and see the accolades of the duo with them together winning a combined total of 76 major trophies. They are the only two players who have scored more than 800 goals for club and country.
Critics debate over the who is the better player while the stats lean towards Messi as he has won more trophies scored fewer goals but, in less time, having played 140 fewer games than Ronaldo. Some critics argue that Ronaldo’s dominance between 2014-18 where he won the Champions league 4 times in a row and won the Balon D’or a prestigious title given to the best footballer in every year except 2015 and 18 where he was runners up to Messi.
Ronaldo’s personality and leadership capabilities make him the better player overall in the eyes of some. Argentina’s recent world cup win has tipped the scale towards Messi in the eyes of many.
The fanbases of the two combined amass to around 1 billion people while Ronaldo is the most followed personality on Instagram with 593 million followers Messi is not far behind at second at 480 million followers.
Despite their rivalry being a hot debate between fans Messi and Ronaldo do not have any negative feelings towards one another both of them have spoken of the rivalry as a driving force for them to perform better and there is clearly no ill will between the two.
However recently Ronaldo has stated how he believes that "The Saudi league is better than MLS." With Messi now playing in the MLS and Ronaldo in the Saudi league this shows the competition is still going strong between the pair.
With Messi joining the MLS side Inter Miami and Ronaldo in the Saudi side Al-Nasser it is being described by fans and pundits alike as an end of an era as for the first time in 20 years neither Messi or Ronaldo will be playing at the highest level of club football.
The last match between the duo was a friendly between Messi’s Paris Saint-Germain and Ronaldo’s Al-Nasser but this outing is very likely the last time we see the two players face one another on the field.
Now football is searching for its new rivalry to replace Messi and Ronaldo but with new offside rules coming to football the game will be changed one way or another making the achievements of Messi and Ronaldo truly one of a kind. Some people have even said that Mbappe vs Haaland is the successor to Messi and Ronaldo’s rivalry.
It is impossible to recreate the rivalry that existed between the duo in their prime no one has come close in any way. Whether it be stats or popularity Messi and Ronaldo are on another level.