Ronaldo | Vital Football

Ronaldo

Love Ronnie and watched him many times at Old Trafford since he first signed but greatest player ever is simply Messi.
 
Cannot put either of them ahead of Pele then Maradona, both playing at a time when defenders could almost get away with murder.
 
Agree with Phil on this one. I once witnessed 4 England players close in on Maradona simultaneously at Wembley intending a hatchet job and to my amazment he skipped past the lot of them, keeping control of the ball too ( 1980 friendly before Maradona reached his peak).

Pele still number 1 for me.

Messi edges it over Ronaldo for me as he's a team player. Mind you, Ronaldo doesn't seem to need a team.
 
Ronaldo has won a major tournament with Portugal. Messi hasn’t with Argentina...yet.
 
Gills 58 said:
Agree with Phil on this one. I once witnessed 4 England players close in on Maradona simultaneously at Wembley intending a hatchet job and to my amazment he skipped past the lot of them, keeping control of the ball too ( 1980 friendly before Maradona reached his peak).

Pele still number 1 for me.

Messi edges it over Ronaldo for me as he's a team player. Mind you, Ronaldo doesn't seem to need a team.
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I never saw Maradona or Pele, so can't compare them really. I suspect older people will look back at those players with nostalgia and remember them as better than they are. Likewise i suspect us younger people who have only seen videos will dismiss them as not as good as people claim.

But as for who is better, Messi or Ronaldo....

Ronaldo for me so far. Messi just simply hasnt done as well for his country at all and actually I think Ronaldo is probably more decorated also now, both at club level, internationally and actually - personally (balon d'or). Ronaldo has scored more goals on both an international stage and at club level. However its worth noting messi is 2 years younger so there's time yet for him to catch up in some instances.
 
For me.....

1. Pele. 1281 goals in 1363 games (ok so that's ALL games but some record over an extended period)

2. Maradonna. Best compliment I can pay as an Englishman is that his second against us in '86 was IMO one of THE best goals ever

3. C Ronaldo. He's got everything for me, reckons he's going to be playing at the top level until he's 41. If he succeeds, could rise one or even two places on this list.
Got a real human side too, to be fair.

 
Don't suppose Pele's goals can be categorised but more than once he scored directly from the kick off against unwary keepers too busy marking out their 6 yard boxes (as was allowed back then).

Then he was in "Escape to Victory"!
 
Correct and I think he was MOM then too which is even more impressive when you consider that when that match was played (circa 1945-44?) Pele was only about four years old (he was born 1940).......Bet Ronaldo can't boast that!!!!
 
I think he’s alongside Messi as freaks if this generation. Ridiculous talents. To me the overhead kick vs Juve is among the 2-3 best goals of this generation, IMO.
 
To compare players of different era's is pointless. The equipment and interpretation of the laws of the game were different, and as also were training and coaching methods. People lucky enough to have seen past greats wold have been in awe of them at the time, but that is the key phrase. At the time. Nostalgia is fine, but the past is the past. I am fortunate enough to have watched the Busby Babes, but would they have been as good the team that won in 1999. We will never know. Enjoy what happens today yesterdays are for memories, tomorrow is for the future. Enjoy today.
 
I reckon it's a bit unfair to judge players on what they've won, because that depends on the teams they happen to have played in. If Pele had been from Paraguay we might not even have heard of him. Likewise, George Best and Johan Cruyff never won any international trophies. You have to judge them on their own merits.
 
It's interesting that, with all these talents on display, Russia aside, teams are not winning by big margins. Spain could have lost to-day but won narrowly despite their superior possession.
 
How can you say Ronaldo isn't a team player after watching him on the sidelines during the Euro final? He has shouldered the responsibility for the Portuguese side pretty much single-handed while Messi has failed time and time again while surrounded with other "class" players for Argentina.
 
If you asked me about five years ago, it would've been Messi without question. He was sharper, more skillful, and a cleverer player than Ronaldo, who by contrast seemed to sort of "brute" force the issue. A bit like the contrast between Federer and Nadal in the tennis.

However Ronaldo, since then, at 33 ffs, seems to just be getting better and better and. As someone alluded to above, he probably could play until he was 41!

He's had to adapt his game a tad given his former "lightning" pace is now only merely "very quick" pace, and has *somewhat* been able to carry teams that he plays in the glory.

Barca over the last few seasons with Messi, Neymar, Suarez & Iniesta etc for my money didn't rely on any one of them. Ronaldo, despite the likes of Bale, Rodriguez, Kroos, Benzema etc, has still been the rock on which Real was built on to win tournaments - which is probably why they're a better cup team than league side.

Similar is true of internationals, where Ronaldo seems to be able to drag the very very best out of an ok Portugal side, whereas Messi doesn't get the same out of Argentina.

In short, for me the best player in the world pretty much lines up with their Ballon D'Or wins.

2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015 - Messi
2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017 - Ronaldo
 
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