We’ve done the maths and here’s the analysis. The result is in…the best footballer on planet earth is….
For some years now the debate as to who is the best footballer on the planet has grown into a hotly contested two horse race and though the likes of Gareth Bale, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Luis Suarez and others have manfully attempted to break the domination in recent years there is still no denying that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are stills a country mile ahead of their footballing peers.
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So let’s try to do the unthinkable and make direct comparisons between the two in a series of relevant areas to then find out eventual ‘king of the world’.
Goal Power
When comparing the two players in terms of sheer number of goals Barcelona star Lionel Messi is no doubt more prolific when considering the respective careers of the duo as a whole.
However measuring this aspect in the short term, so as to garner an assertion as to whom is the better player at this moment in time, then Cristiano Ronaldo edges it.
In 2011/12 and 12/13 Messi’s numbers in this regard were mind-boggling but Ronaldo has moved into a new gear entirely over the past 18 months.
Whilst Messi’s tally of 52 goals in his last 60 Barcelona appearances is phenomenal, his run of 14 goals in his last 20 run-outs for the Argentine national team not being too shabby either, these stats pale into insignificance when held up against Ronaldo’s efforts.
The former Man United man has bagged an astonishing 74 goals in his past 64 Real Madrid appearances, numbers that are in a league of their own.
His 15 goals in 17 international appearances over the past two years show, fairly conclusively, that his national team would flounder without his presence.
Cristiano Ronaldo: 10/10
Lionel Messi: 9/10
Team-work
Besides putting the finishing touches to moves for club and country both Ronaldo and Messi provide more than their fair share of assists and are not averse to tracking back and helping out their team-mates.
Over the past 18 months Messi has provided 20 assists in 62 Barcelona appearances and in the same period of time Ronaldo has racked up 19 assists in 65 Real Madrid matches.
Whilst it’s perhaps fair to say Ronaldo is more adept at venturing back into a defensive role neither player is known for getting stuck in to any real degree and as such Messi shades this one.
You could argue to some extent that both players offer so much in individual terms that what they offer to a team as a whole is perhaps less key an attribute.
Lionel Messi: 9/10
Cristiano Ronaldo: 8/10
Value for money
Lionel Messi arrived at Barcelona at the age of 13 and swiftly made a name for himself in the club’s youth and academy sides before be handed his debut in October 2004, the following May he became the club’s youngster ever La Liga goal-scorer and the rest, as they say, is history.
Whilst Barcelona did not have to pay a fee for the youngster they did of course have to foster that talent from a very early age but have of course been repaid in a very big way!
Real Madrid may have forked out a world record £80m fee to bring in Ronaldo from Man United but such has been the Portuguese star’s success since that 2009 move that such an outlay still looks like a bargain.
When the Bernabeu side spent the sum to bring in the attacker from Old Trafford they did so knowing exactly what they were paying for. A player who had already more than proven himself to be a world-beater, a Balon d’Or and Champions League winner and a player who has subsequently delivered in a very big way in the Spanish capital.
Lionel Messi 10/10
Cristiano Ronaldo 9/10
National team impact
Lionel Messi has at various points of his international career been accused of failing to come close to replicating his Barcelona form when in Argentina colours. To a large degree that may be a fair criticism though is perhaps more an indictment of his national team colleagues than any failing on his behalf.
That said, over the past couple of years Messi has shone in a big way when in the blue and white of his national team.
Though last summer’s award as the best player at the 2014 World Cup finals was unjustified there is still no denying he made a real impact at the highest level possible.
The Rosario born star is Argentina’s sixth highest capped player in history and only Gabriela Batistuta has netted more goals for La Albiceleste and we are talking about a player who is just 27 years of age….
Cristiano Ronaldo arguably has less to work with when it comes to using his individual talents to propel Portugal to major successes but that hasn’t stopped him trying manfully to achieve just that.
Nothing more exemplifies his desire to do so than the hat-trick he fired in against Sweden in Portugal’s all important 2014 World Cup qualifying play-off.
In all honesty if Ronaldo has a bad day, or is not fit for duty, then Portugal are a shadow of themselves. Though the Portuguese would clearly not want it to be the case they are most definitely a one man team and at times that has weighed heavily on Ronaldo’s shoulders, as evident at this summer’s World Cup finals.
The 29 year old has netted goals in six major finals, his total of 117 caps is just ten shy of record holder Luis Figo and his 52 goal haul is second to none.
Lionel Messi: 9/10
Cristiano Ronaldo: 10/10
Conclusion
So we score this battle as a tie.
In some ways it would be churlish to rate one over the other as we are talking about the two best players of a generation, arguably two of the best players to have ever played the game.
What each have achieved individually puts them a real distance ahead of their peers. Perhaps the consistent level of brilliance Messrs Ronaldo and Messi have attained has in some way led to each of the players striving to continue at that sky-high level.
Each acting as an incentive, a bench-mark, for the other.