The Argument on Who is Better. Leo Messi or C. Ronaldo?
YES
Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi are probably the top two players in the world at the moment even though they are still so young. There are many similarities between them but essentially the comparison comes down to a good big 'un against a good little 'un. And when you look at the goals he has scored this season, Ronaldo has moved ahead of Messi.
That is not to take anything away from the Barcelona player, who has had problems with his hamstrings and missed quite a chunk of the previous season. The fact that they have missed him so much shows how important he is. But anybody who has seen them both play this season would admit Ronaldo has been the better player.
It is harsh to criticise Ronaldo for not having performed in the big games at the highest level. Manchester United have won the league title, if not in Europe, and Messi was only evolving as a player when Barcelona won the Champions League two years ago.
The Premier League is a faster and fiercer environment to play in than the more technically oriented La Liga but since moving from Portugal Ronaldo has not lost his quick feet and has improved his skills in other areas vastly in the past two to three years.
He has matured; when he first came to Manchester United he was only a kid. His biggest weakness, besides the mental attitude to tackles coming in at him, used to be his heading ability. He is a tall lad and he was not as good in the air as he should have been but all that has changed as he has adapted to the Premier League and now it is another skill he has mastered.
Both players are blessed with unbelievably quick feet, have pace, love running at defenders, committing defenders, running from deep positions. From a dribbling point of view and in terms of skill and technique they are equal in their abilities. Messi is slighter, has a lower centre of gravity and so can argue that he is better in the tighter areas.
But I cannot believe how many goals Ronaldo has scored. He has become so much stronger in the past 12 to 18 months and it is that power which takes him past defenders. He wants to take them on and show how good he is. He has taken more of his opportunities than Messi this season and his ability to take freekicks and head the ball also give him the advantage. There is no question that he has been the best player in the world this season. Messi is up there but no one can get near Ronaldo on his current form.
NO
Even though he has been injured and missed a lot of games this season, for me Leo Messi is ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo at the moment. Ronaldo is having an outstanding season but I don't fall into the trap of believing that because he is having a good nine months playing in the Premier League he is the world's best player.
We do tend to get a bit carried away in this country when we are praising players. Since I became involved with England in the 1970s we have always had good players but I don't understand why in the past three to four years those players have gone from being described as good to being described as world class. Those so-called world-class players have then not performed at a world-class level at major tournaments.
In Ronaldo's case he has the potential to be the best footballer in Europe or the world but needs to perform at the highest level over a number of years. I have heard him being talked of as betterthan George Best, which is not fair on either of them. Best may not have played at the top for as long as he should have done, but Ronaldo as yet only has the potential to be better.
I am certainly not criticising Ronaldo. Both he and Messi are extremely talented players. The reason people are comparing them is simply because they are a similar age, but they are very different. You may as well compare Pele with Platini.
One of Ronaldo's greatest attributes is his physique. As a manager you need your quota of 6ft-plus players to attack and defend at set pieces. At 6ft 1in Ronaldo is outstanding in the air, which is an ability that he has over Messi. Ronaldo also has fantastic pace and explosive shooting power and is a good crosser of the ball but he is not as clever as Messi in terms of his passing.
In possession of the ball Messi is much more perceptive: he can open teams up very intelligently and has great vision. Ronaldo prefers to dribble in bigger spaces while Messi is better in tighter areas — at times it appears as if the ball is stuck to his foot. He can suck in two or three players and teams always have to have at least one covering player on him. In tight areas he can get past the first player and then either do the same to the next or beat him with a pass.
Ronaldo's movement has improved this season but that is down to Sir Alex Ferguson, who has allowed him to play across the full width of the pitch. None of the greats of the game, Pele, Maradona, Cruyff or Platini, were restricted in their play either. Messi tends to operate predominantly on the right-hand side of a 4-3-3 so is slightly more restricted and has not had the opportunity to show as much of what he can do.
Mini Soccer
Monkey Kick Off