🗣️🇵🇹 Cristiano Ronaldo: “Whoever works hard, God helps them. And I knew my teammates would help me too.
It was a tough week, a dark week… at times it felt like I’d already retired from football.
But I held on, as I always do, because I believe in hard work more than anything. It was difficult, I have to admit, but we’re back.” 🐐🇵🇹❤️🔥
Saying I'm back to the camera? Yeah, it's so they don't forget."
🚨🗣️ Cristiano Ronaldo:
“Whoever works hard, God helps them. It was a tough, dark week, at times it felt like I’d already retired. But I held on because I believe in hard work. It wasn’t easy, but we’re back.” 🐐🇵🇹
Miroslav Klose on Kylian Mbappé winning Man of the Match against Iraq and reaching 16 World Cup goals in 16 games:
🗣️ “Sixteen World Cup goals in sixteen matches... those are numbers that should make every football fan stop for a second and appreciate what they are witnessing. At the World Cup, scoring is supposed to be difficult. Mbappé is making it look frighteningly easy.”
“When I see these statistics, I don't just see goals. I see consistency, composure, and a player who embraces the biggest stage in football instead of being intimidated by it.”
“Tonight against Iraq, he once again showed why defenders around the world fear him. His pace is devastating, his movement is intelligent, and his finishing is becoming more ruthless with every tournament.”
“What impresses me most is that he never looks overwhelmed by the occasion. Some players feel the pressure of a World Cup. Mbappé seems to grow stronger because of it.”
“At his age, most players are still dreaming about creating a World Cup legacy. Mbappé already has one, and the scary part is that his story is far from finished.”
“Records that took players entire careers to build are now appearing within his reach. That is not normal. That is the sign of a truly special footballer.”
“The world talks about his speed, but his mentality deserves just as much praise. Great players score goals. The greatest players score goals when millions of people expect them to.”
“When France need a hero, he appears. When a match needs a decisive moment, he provides it. That is why he continues to collect goals, awards, and unforgettable nights.”
“If he continues at this pace, football history will have no choice but to create a special place for his name. Because sixteen goals in sixteen World Cup matches is not just impressive it is extraordinary.”
🚨🎙️Sergio Ramos on the difference between Messi and Ronaldo:
🗣️"The difference is very clear. When Ronaldo scores, the world talks about Ronaldo. But when Messi scores, the world still talks about Ronaldo."
🟥 Senegal Devlet Başkanı'nın Senagal Milli Takımı'na gönderdiği Mesajı:
"Namazınızı vaktinde kılın, Kur'an okumanızı aksatmayın ve Sadio Mané'yi vakit namazlarınızda takım imamı yapın çünkü onun tilavet sesi çok güzel."
Allah katında en üstününüz en takvalı olanınızdır.
After Ronaldo won EURO 2016 while Messi was still without a senior international trophy, a common argument across football media, punditry and mainstream football discourse was that international trophies were not essential to determining individual greatness. Football was said to be a team sport, and a player’s legacy should not be reduced to what he won with his national team.
At the time, Messi had lost four major international finals with Argentina and had even retired from international football after the 2016 Copa América final defeat to Chile.
A few months later, Messi returned. What followed was an unusually busy Copa América schedule. The tournament was played in 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2021, four editions in just six years. Many observers could not help but notice that a player who had repeatedly fallen short was being given more opportunities to win in a short period and rightly so. Eventually, Messi won the 2021 Copa América.
For years, the football world had been told that international trophies were not necessary to be considered the greatest of all time. When Messi lacked an international trophy, the importance of international success was routinely downplayed.
Similarly, when Messi lacked a World Cup, it was not considered essential to being the GOAT. Once he won it in Qatar, however, the World Cup was elevated from being one achievement among many to the achievement that supposedly settled the GOAT debate forever.
To many Ronaldo supporters, this is the clearest example of shifting goalposts in football history. The standards appeared to change at every stage until they aligned perfectly with Messi’s résumé. What was once irrelevant became important. What was important became essential. And once Messi achieved it, the debate was declared over.
In Qatar, Argentina received five penalties during the tournament, a World Cup record for a single team in one edition. Several refereeing decisions involving Argentina remain debated to this day, including Messi’s handball incident against the Netherlands that some believe warranted a second yellow card.
For many critics, these were not isolated incidents but part of a wider pattern they believe has followed Messi throughout his career, where controversial decisions repeatedly seem to fall in his favour. They point to numerous moments over the years where they believe punishments that would have been applied to other players were overlooked when Messi was involved. Some supporters have even argued that similar concerns resurfaced only recently, after another incident in which they believe Messi was fortunate to avoid a red card.
Whether one agrees with that view or not, it has become a significant reason why many Ronaldo supporters remain sceptical of the narrative surrounding Messi’s achievements and the way they are discussed by the football establishment and mainstream media.
For many Ronaldo supporters, the issue has never simply been about preferring one player over another. It is about what they perceive as inconsistent standards. They see achievements weighed differently depending on who accomplished them. They see one player protected from scrutiny while the other is subjected to it at every turn.
That is why many continue to side with Ronaldo. Not because to many he is the greatest to ever kick a ball or he has won every trophy or because he is beyond criticism, but because they believe the standards applied to him have often been harsher than those applied to his greatest rival.
They would rather support a player who loses with his honour intact than celebrate victories they believe are surrounded by unanswered questions.
As José Mourinho once said: “If I have to win in that way, I would be ashamed.”
For them, the issue is not simply who won. It is whether the criteria for greatness remained consistent throughout the debate. In their view, they did not.
Mark Manson said it right:
“Read books because you will never be able to meet and spend uninterrupted time with the thoughts of so many brilliant and unique people.”