Most soccer fans have an answer. Not necessarily that they outwardly support one player or the other. Instead, they just believe that one of the players is simply better than the other.
The debate between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo has dominated the world of soccer for the past decade and a half. Their frequent duels between Barcelona and Real Madrid allowed fans to regularly see the two best players of their era. The dominance on the scoreboard and in the competition made those two after the rest in the ranking of players of the modern era.
Messi and Ronaldo made the Ballon d’Or almost insignificant. From 2008 to 2021, French football awarded the Ballon d’Or 13 times. Messi won it seven of them, and Ronaldo won it five. Only Luka Modric could stop the hegemony of the Ballon d’Or.
There remains a legitimate case for both players to claim that they outplay their individual rival. Messi’s followers point to those Ballon d’Ors or his notable goalscoring contributions through goals and assists. In addition, the Argentine achieved the best season of individual play in perhaps the history of the sport. His 92 goals in 2012 are unparalleled.
Then Ronaldo supporters point out that no player in the history of the game has scored more goals. In addition, Ronaldo helped Portugal to its first international trophy. At the same time, he emerged as by far the greatest player in UEFA Champions League history.
Now, Messi has a chance to do something Ronaldo was never really close to: win a World Cup. Can lifting the only trophy he hasn’t won be the final argument to put Messi above Ronaldo?
Messi and Ronaldo never played in a World Cup. It prevents the two of you from having tangible evidence in the debate to say if one is better. It is not like the multiple meetings in LaLiga, 18, Champions League, six or the rest of competitions.
Instead, the World Cup serves as the marker in the debate between Messi and Ronaldo. The ebbs and flows in the careers of Messi and Ronaldo have seen the Argentine light up Spain and Europe. A couple of years later, no one could stop Ronaldo from doing the same. Each player has a Ballon d’Or, LaLiga titles, Copa del Rey, Champions League, Club World Cup, Pichichis, Golden Boots in Europe and more recognitions.
The only dividing point was Ronaldo’s success with Portugal. Success in this case is simply winning a major international competition. Messi may be more consistent with three Copa América final appearances and a World Cup final loss in 2014. Ronaldo’s crowning moment, however, came in 2016. He helped Portugal win their first international trophy. important in Euro 2016.
Messi did not have that moment. That is, until he matched Ronaldo with the 2021 Copa América title. In that tournament, Messi was the tournament’s top scorer and top assister. Unsurprisingly, he won the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award, the second time he’s won it.
How the World Cup fits into the Messi vs Ronaldo debate
In the 2022 World Cup, Messi looks brilliant. His five goals have him tied with Kylian Mbappé for the most goals in the tournament. Three assists also have him tied for the top of that leaderboard.
Depending on what happens against France, Messi could win his second Ballon d’Or at the World Cup as the tournament’s best player. Of course, lifting the World Cup trophy will matter more to him than the Ballon d’Or.
Furthermore, winning the World Cup would be the greatest achievement for the illustrious career of the little Argentine. In fact, at the beginning of 2016, after winning his fifth Ballon d’Or, Messi said that he would trade those five individual awards for a World Cup with Argentina.
“The World Cup is the highest you can reach as a player,” Messi said. “So the World Cup, definitely.”
The World Cup is the only international competition with which Messi and Ronaldo can be directly compared. Ronaldo is the first person to score in five World Cups. Messi becomes the competition’s all-time appearances leader with his 26th in the 2022 World Cup final. They are in the tournament record books.
Messi winning the World Cup would give him an unrivaled advantage in the debate against Ronaldo. Certainly Ronaldo could climb the ladder again in 2026 at the ripe age of 41 to win with Portugal. He is not one to shy away from the opportunity to play at the highest level.
Still, it would take monumental effort and performance to match what Messi has done for Argentina at this World Cup. In the Final, with victory or defeat, he comes out in the most important match of his career.
The best Portuguese player of all time is Cristiano Ronaldo. There is little to no doubt about that, since the best competitor would be Eusebio. Eusebio dominated in the 1966 World Cup, Portugal’s best result in the tournament with third place. Ronaldo finished fourth in the 2006 World Cup as a 21-year-old star. That included the decisive penalty against England in the quarter-final.
However, Portugal’s expectations are tame compared to Argentina’s. Portugal has never been to a World Cup final. The 2022 Final is Argentina’s sixth. Therefore, the importance of the World Cup for Messi far exceeds what it means for Ronaldo.
A World Cup win would do a lot more for his legacy than simply reaching the final a second time. Argentine fans often compare Messi to his predecessor at the pinnacle of Argentine soccer, Diego Maradona. Many fans say that Messi can never be in the same caliber as El Barrilete. Never mind the fact that Messi single-handedly led Argentina to the 2018 World Cup. Ignore that Messi is the nation’s all-time leading goalscorer in all competitions and the World Cup.
The Argentines care about one thing: that Argentina win the World Cup. If Lionel Messi and Argentina can win it, it will go beyond Cristiano Ronaldo’s achievements with Portugal. Along the way, he will have eclipsed the Portuguese’s personal achievements, short of scoring goals. All that matters now is the World Cup, and it’s the most history a player can achieve.
PHOTO: IMAGO/Icon Sportswire – Richard Gordon
