Messi or Ronaldo - Who's best

[Nanderson]

So you're saying you'd have Nedved and Shevchenko over 91 goals and 22 assists 2012 Messi??

I'm saying Messi is a bit of a flat track bully, he's a very good one trick pony but we've seen that he can't do it in adversity.

Look how he crumbles with a star studded Argentina, every time.

And as I've said countless times before, it's a lot easier to look good in the era Ronaldo and Messi peaked in.

It's similar as to how Federer stopped winning slams when Nadal and Djokovic turned up. Competition changes things, there's not a striker in the game today as good as a peak Sheva/Batistuta/Ronaldo/Vieri, nor a midfielder in the game today as good as a peak Nedved or Redondo - none are even close. There's no goalkeeper around as good as a peak Buffon, no full back around who could rival Zanetti/Cafu, no centre back in the same league as Nesta, Maldini, Thuram and so on and so forth.

Lewandowski would have won the Ballon d'Or this year if it had been handed out, he's a great player but he's not in the same level as a peak Sheva and that shows why Messi and Ronaldo have dominated the football scene for the past decade - it has been weak.

So post all the stats up you guys want, they don't change the context.

Messi should always be judged with his record for the national side at major tournaments a major asterisk over him.

The real Ronaldo won a World Cup by himself when he came back from 2 years out with a knee injury. That knee injury that he came back from robbed him of his explosiveness, he was about 70% of the player he was, yet it did not stop him from achieve greatness.

The Brazilian Ronaldo is the greatest of all time, certainly up there with Maradona anyway.

I certainly wouldn't call any Argentina team star studded. Yes they have always had fantastic attackers but in every international tournament they have lacked a powerful midfielder or a dominant centre back or even a half decent keeper and not to forget a manager that knows what he is doing. If Messi has an asterisk over him for major tournaments why all the praise for shev/nedved when they never achieved anything either? Messi got Argentina to a World cup final and was named POTT only losing out in extra time to a far superior Germany team

[mouview]

So you're saying you'd have Nedved and Shevchenko over 91 goals and 22 assists 2012 Messi??

I'm saying Messi is a bit of a flat track bully, he's a very good one trick pony but we've seen that he can't do it in adversity.

Look how he crumbles with a star studded Argentina, every time.

And as I've said countless times before, it's a lot easier to look good in the era Ronaldo and Messi peaked in.

It's similar as to how Federer stopped winning slams when Nadal and Djokovic turned up. Competition changes things, there's not a striker in the game today as good as a peak Sheva/Batistuta/Ronaldo/Vieri, nor a midfielder in the game today as good as a peak Nedved or Redondo - none are even close. There's no goalkeeper around as good as a peak Buffon, no full back around who could rival Zanetti/Cafu, no centre back in the same league as Nesta, Maldini, Thuram and so on and so forth.

Lewandowski would have won the Ballon d'Or this year if it had been handed out, he's a great player but he's not in the same level as a peak Sheva and that shows why Messi and Ronaldo have dominated the football scene for the past decade - it has been weak.

So post all the stats up you guys want, they don't change the context.

Messi should always be judged with his record for the national side at major tournaments a major asterisk over him.

The real Ronaldo won a World Cup by himself when he came back from 2 years out with a knee injury. That knee injury that he came back from robbed him of his explosiveness, he was about 70% of the player he was, yet it did not stop him from achieve greatness.

The Brazilian Ronaldo is the greatest of all time, certainly up there with Maradona anyway.

Vieri??  Is that the €40m clod who missed an absolute sitter for Italy v South Korea in 2002 and cost them a chance to progress? Some International-level player he..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62B0UBFUdk0
If International achievement is the only metric, then Paulo Rossi is the greatest striker of all time.

Put down the Internet for a while Angelo, take time away.

[Angelo]

So you're saying you'd have Nedved and Shevchenko over 91 goals and 22 assists 2012 Messi??

I'm saying Messi is a bit of a flat track bully, he's a very good one trick pony but we've seen that he can't do it in adversity.

Look how he crumbles with a star studded Argentina, every time.

And as I've said countless times before, it's a lot easier to look good in the era Ronaldo and Messi peaked in.

It's similar as to how Federer stopped winning slams when Nadal and Djokovic turned up. Competition changes things, there's not a striker in the game today as good as a peak Sheva/Batistuta/Ronaldo/Vieri, nor a midfielder in the game today as good as a peak Nedved or Redondo - none are even close. There's no goalkeeper around as good as a peak Buffon, no full back around who could rival Zanetti/Cafu, no centre back in the same league as Nesta, Maldini, Thuram and so on and so forth.

Lewandowski would have won the Ballon d'Or this year if it had been handed out, he's a great player but he's not in the same level as a peak Sheva and that shows why Messi and Ronaldo have dominated the football scene for the past decade - it has been weak.

So post all the stats up you guys want, they don't change the context.

Messi should always be judged with his record for the national side at major tournaments a major asterisk over him.

The real Ronaldo won a World Cup by himself when he came back from 2 years out with a knee injury. That knee injury that he came back from robbed him of his explosiveness, he was about 70% of the player he was, yet it did not stop him from achieve greatness.

The Brazilian Ronaldo is the greatest of all time, certainly up there with Maradona anyway.

Vieri??  Is that the €40m clod who missed an absolute sitter for Italy v South Korea in 2002 and cost them a chance to progress? Some International-level player he..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62B0UBFUdk0
If International achievement is the only metric, then Paulo Rossi is the greatest striker of all time.

Put down the Internet for a while Angelo, take time away.

That would be the same Vieri who scored two goals in three WC knockout games as opposed to Messi who has scored 0 goals in 8 WC knockout games.

Vieri had one season in Spanish football, he scored 24 goals in 24 La Liga games - must mean Messi is a clod too.

[Boycey]

This thread is breathtaking 

[thewobbler]

Hard to believe that people would mention better players of a generation alongside a couple of the best players of all time.

Each to their own.

[imtommygunn]

This thread is breathtaking 

Isn't it

[nrico2006]

How is Messi a one trick pony? First time I've heard that actually.

[JoG2]

How is Messi a one trick pony? First time I've heard that actually.

Same man has mentioned it before I think, though it may have been 'one dimensional'.

Great thread though  . Can I throw Michael Owen into the mix, former Ballon D'or winner

[Itchy]

How is Messi a one trick pony? First time I've heard that actually.

Same man has mentioned it before I think, though it may have been 'one dimensional'.

Great thread though  . Can I throw Michael Owen into the mix, former Ballon D'or winner

Absolutely, Owen had two trick but Messi only has one. Angelo needs to take his medicine. I find it hard to believe I have to say this but for me Messi is the greatest player there has ever been and probably ever will be. A complete freak of nature. We are so privileged to had a chance to see his genius over the past 10 years. His stats are astonishing. How anyone with any idea about playing soccer thinks any different, well I just can't believe it. "Peak" Messi is at a completely different level to any other player

[quit yo jibbajabba]

......apart from Nedved



.........and Schevchenko

[gawa316]

......apart from Nedved



.........and Schevchenko

Don't forget Redondo

[BennyCake]

......apart from Nedved



.........and Schevchenko

And both Ronaldos.

[Angelo]

Saying Messi and CR7 are greater players than R9 and Shevchenko is like saying One Direction were a greater band than The Beatles.

[Nanderson]

Just think of the amount of goals peak messi and ronaldo would have scored during Nedved and Shevchenko 'era'. They would have been hitting 40+ league goals for fun in a slower paced game dancing around slow bulky defenders with zero pace

[Angelo]

Just think of the amount of goals peak messi and ronaldo would have scored during Nedved and Shevchenko 'era'. They would have been hitting 40+ league goals for fun in a slower paced game dancing around slow bulky defenders with zero pace

You're off your head.

If Van Dijk is one of the best defenders in the world right now then I think it tells you all you need to know about the abysmal state of the game at present. Messi generally struggled against Italian teams, he has been absolutely pathetic at the business end of international tournaments without his star studded supporting cast.

Whatever about Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi is a complete one trick pony, when you put in place a highly energetic team who are all technically proficient and can play these one touch pass triangles then there is nobody better than him - but when you take him out of that and you ask him to deliver outside his comforts then he fails consistently.

At least CR7 can say he has done it in England, Spain and Italy. Messi has done it with a great Barcelona team who had plenty of once in a generation talents too playing alongside him - Argentina with always be the death knell for Messi. Guys like Di Maria and Mascherano were the leaders and the main men in those Argentina sides. They were a non-scoring well drilled outfit and Messi just couldn't deliver.

0 goals in 8 WC knockout matches - failure but if he scores 4 goals agaisnt Levante or Eibar then he's the greatest, apparently.