Ethan- Week 19- Cristiano Ronaldo is better than Lionel Messi

While Lionel Messi is one of the greatest soccer players in history, he stands a close second to the true king, Cristiano Ronaldo. Cristiano Ronaldo currently has 767 career goals (most ever), while Mess has 729. Although Ronaldo has been playing longer than Messi, which could describe the goal differential, this is not the only attribute that makes him better. First, in terms of physicality, it is clear who would win in a 1v1 situation. Ronaldo is way faster, he is significantly taller (6’2” compared to 5’7”), much stronger, has better skills, and has better heading ability. This would allow Ronaldo to either take on Messi and beat him with skill, outpace him, or win any aerial balls such as from a corner kick or a cross. Ronaldo also has a much more powerful shot, has scored much more goals with his weak foot, and has mastered the knuckleball technique, something Messi has not. He also has an incredibly special and unique technique for taking penalties where he runs up very fast and slams his plant foot so hard next to the ball that the ball actually jumps up slightly, which turns a penalty into a volley (link below). In addition to his attacking advantage, Ronaldo is also better at defending and is in much better condition than Messi. Messi is caught many times walking on the pitch, not pressing, and waiting for the ball to come to him, while Ronaldo has countless examples of incredible tackles and hard press to try and win the ball back. For the few times that they have played against each other, there have been multiple instances where Ronaldo has either stolen the ball from Messi or has drilled right past him. Moreover, unlike Messi, Ronaldo has proven himself in four different clubs in four different leagues, making each a winning team. He has an incredible impact on a team because of his leadership skills. This is in contrast to Messi where he has been with Barcelona forever, which is the only place he has had success. Even when leaving to play internationally, Messi often does not play as well with Argentina, especially compared to how Ronaldo plays with Portugal. They have both not won a world cup, but Ronaldo has much more goals internationally than Messi. Furthermore, by simply looking at individual awards, it may seem that Messi is better because he has an extra Ballon d’Or or two extra Golden Boots. This is not the case however and is rather just another statistic in Messi’s favor. Messi is undoubtedly incredible, which is why this is such a contested debate, but when examining the physical abilities and attributes of the two, Ronaldo is for sure better. Does anyone disagree and think CR7 is not the GOAT?

Penalty technique- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5Q0W7hnTEI

Link- https://sportsshow.net/cristiano-ronaldo-is-better-than-lionel-messi/

F2 freestylers video comparison- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcpEy3KweaM