The New Era of Football between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo
The rivalry between Ronaldo and Messi has dominated the world of football for the past decade. The coveted Ballon d’Or has been a tightly fought contest between the two each year, with other contenders merely left to compete for third place. In the last ten years, Ronaldo has taken the award 5 times: exactly the same number that Messi picked up the award.
When Ronaldo breaks a record, Messi follows up by breaking another. The number of records held between Ronaldo and Messi is frightening and football would not be the same without this rivalry.
Source: sports.yahoo.com
When you get two players who have been playing at the highest level for a long period, rivalry will always develop. The fact that they have also been playing for teams that are fierce rivals further intensifies the rivalry. They are the star players of the two most dominant teams in La Liga; Barcelona and Real Madrid. Ronaldo has won La Liga twice, whilst Messi has won it a staggering eight times!
They have been the standout players in the Champions League for as long as you can remember. Ronaldo just moved ahead of Messi in terms of Champions League trophies, lifting his fifth whilst Messi has won four.
Their goal scoring exploits are even more impressive, with Messi currently on 616 goals and Ronaldo further ahead on 654 goals. Ronaldo is narrowly ahead in club goals with 573 to Messi’s 552. Ronaldo holds the record for most Champions League goals (120) with Messi his nearest rival (100). The third-placed goal scorer is Raul at a considerably lower 71 goals, showing just how far in front these formidable players are.
Even at international level there is rivalry – Ronaldo’s Portugal will be hoping to emulate Messi’s Argentina in this World Cup. Ronaldo will no doubt be pushing himself to outperform Messi in terms of goals and assists.
In years to come, long after both have retired from the game, the question ‘Who was better – Ronaldo or Messi?’ will still be debated over and over again. The stats will be analyzed, the records used as evidence and the total goals scored will probably be a key stat used in these arguments. At 33 Ronaldo is running out of time to add to his stats.
Messi is looking in great form coming into the tournament as the European Golden Shoe winner and warming up with four goals against minnows Haiti. Ronaldo had a relatively quiet game in the Champions League Final victory over Liverpool. So he will be even more determined to be making the headlines in the World Cup.
Ronaldo has often hinted at leaving Real Madrid and added further fuel to the fire immediately after the final in Kiev. Whether he does move to another club remains to be seen but his first World Cup game in Russia will see him up against teammates and rivals from La Liga when he plays Spain. Portugal will also play Morocco and Iran.
Source: CNN.com
Messi’s Argentina is considered to have a slightly easier group with Iceland, Croatia and Nigeria to get past to move into the next round. Both players will be looking at a couple of their opponents thinking it will be a great opportunity to get lots of goals. Their teams are also the favorites to progress from their group, with a good possibility that the Quarter Finals will see a mouthwatering pairing of Argentina vs. Portugal. If this game does take place then it will be billed the Messi v Ronaldo match.
Of course, football is a team game but with individual football geniuses like Ronaldo and Messi, it is difficult not to look at their brilliance and compare them to one another. Who will finish the World Cup on top? We will soon find out.
