local man @still_thinkin_ - Twitter Profile

21 days ago

Probably my last take on this Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi debate on this space, but there’s nothing that irritates me more than the rhetoric of, “Oh, Lionel Messi is so gifted, while Cristiano Ronaldo is just hard work.” That is an incredibly simplistic way to look at both players. Lionel Messi is 39 years old and is still performing at the World Cup at the highest level, being one of the best players, if not the best player, at the entire World Cup. That is not the product of somebody who is simply naturally gifted. Yes, Messi is naturally gifted. But I would even argue that there are players we’ve seen in football who also possessed similar, if not greater, natural talent. Ronaldo Nazario, Johan Cruyff, Maradona, Pelé, and especially Ronaldinho come to mind. Messi is incredibly talented, probably the most talented player we’ve ever seen, but he’s also incredibly hardworking. The amount of tackles he has had to crunch throughout his career, his strength on the ball, his resistance, his body balance, all of that is the product of somebody who works hard and is determined like a monster. Also, the talk that Messi doesn’t have a strong mentality is just crap. We’ve seen what Messi has endured. He has endured some of the most embarrassing losses at the highest stage, yet time and time again, he comes back again and again and again. He’s already won one World Cup. Most people thought he wouldn’t even be at this World Cup three years ago, but here he is yet again, still at the top, leading his team. So yes, he’s a mentality monster. And the same applies to Cristiano Ronaldo. People who reduce Cristiano Ronaldo to simply hard work and determination, okay, you go and be hardworking and see if you’ll become Cristiano Ronaldo. You can work ten times as hard as Ronaldo and never achieve what he has achieved because he’s simply just that gifted. The pace, the ability to move the ball, the instincts on the ball. Those of you who watched Cristiano Ronaldo in his early days, did you people see what he was doing? He could dribble like a knife cutting through hot butter. He was unstoppable. You could not stop him. Those are not things you learn by running on a treadmill. Those are things that are natural to you. If you don’t have it, you don’t have it. And I promise you, no matter how hard you work, if you’re not born with that level of natural gift, you will never have it. Now, to end this, my point on who is the greatest of all time. Messi and Ronaldo, when we talk about who is the better player, that is a very, very subjective thing that we can debate. I hear people who tell me that Messi is better. I personally still believe that Cristiano Ronaldo is a finer player in terms of his overall ability because he can do more. He’s faster, he’s better aerially, he can score from further distance. I just feel he’s a more refined footballer overall. But I hear people who think Messi is better and might prefer his playing style. That I hear. But when we talk about greatness, we are talking about not just what the person has accomplished, but how the person has accomplished it. Cristiano Ronaldo’s story, how he moved from Madeira to Lisbon, to Manchester, to Real Madrid, to Juventus, that story is the story of greatness. The moments he has created in football. The longevity. The consistency. The ability to reinvent himself. The level at which he has performed across different teams, different leagues, different generations. That is greatness. Recency bias will not change my opinion on this matter. I don’t think that there’s any footballer that is as great as Cristiano Ronaldo. I feel like Cristiano Ronaldo is significantly the greatest football player that we have ever seen. He’s about to hit 1,000 goals, and just like the recency bias is swinging in Messi’s favour, I’m sure that Cristiano Ronaldo, knowing who he is, still has enough in him to swing something back his way. He is not just my ‘goat’ but THE GREATEST.

GroveRKifasi's tweet photo. Probably my last take on this Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi debate on this space, but there’s nothing that irritates me more than the rhetoric of, “Oh, Lionel Messi is so gifted, while Cristiano Ronaldo is just hard work.”

That is an incredibly simplistic way to look at both players.

Lionel Messi is 39 years old and is still performing at the World Cup at the highest level, being one of the best players, if not the best player, at the entire World Cup. That is not the product of somebody who is simply naturally gifted.

Yes, Messi is naturally gifted. But I would even argue that there are players we’ve seen in football who also possessed similar, if not greater, natural talent. Ronaldo Nazario, Johan Cruyff, Maradona, Pelé, and especially Ronaldinho come to mind.

Messi is incredibly talented, probably the most talented player we’ve ever seen, but he’s also incredibly hardworking.

The amount of tackles he has had to crunch throughout his career, his strength on the ball, his resistance, his body balance, all of that is the product of somebody who works hard and is determined like a monster.

Also, the talk that Messi doesn’t have a strong mentality is just crap.

We’ve seen what Messi has endured. He has endured some of the most embarrassing losses at the highest stage, yet time and time again, he comes back again and again and again.

He’s already won one World Cup. Most people thought he wouldn’t even be at this World Cup three years ago, but here he is yet again, still at the top, leading his team.

So yes, he’s a mentality monster.

And the same applies to Cristiano Ronaldo.

People who reduce Cristiano Ronaldo to simply hard work and determination, okay, you go and be hardworking and see if you’ll become Cristiano Ronaldo.

You can work ten times as hard as Ronaldo and never achieve what he has achieved because he’s simply just that gifted.

The pace, the ability to move the ball, the instincts on the ball. Those of you who watched Cristiano Ronaldo in his early days, did you people see what he was doing?

He could dribble like a knife cutting through hot butter. He was unstoppable. You could not stop him.

Those are not things you learn by running on a treadmill. Those are things that are natural to you. If you don’t have it, you don’t have it.

And I promise you, no matter how hard you work, if you’re not born with that level of natural gift, you will never have it.

Now, to end this, my point on who is the greatest of all time.

Messi and Ronaldo, when we talk about who is the better player, that is a very, very subjective thing that we can debate.

I hear people who tell me that Messi is better. I personally still believe that Cristiano Ronaldo is a finer player in terms of his overall ability because he can do more. He’s faster, he’s better aerially, he can score from further distance. I just feel he’s a more refined footballer overall.

But I hear people who think Messi is better and might prefer his playing style. That I hear.

But when we talk about greatness, we are talking about not just what the person has accomplished, but how the person has accomplished it.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s story, how he moved from Madeira to Lisbon, to Manchester, to Real Madrid, to Juventus, that story is the story of greatness.

The moments he has created in football. The longevity. The consistency. The ability to reinvent himself. The level at which he has performed across different teams, different leagues, different generations.

That is greatness.

Recency bias will not change my opinion on this matter.

I don’t think that there’s any footballer that is as great as Cristiano Ronaldo.

I feel like Cristiano Ronaldo is significantly the greatest football player that we have ever seen.

He’s about to hit 1,000 goals, and just like the recency bias is swinging in Messi’s favour, I’m sure that Cristiano Ronaldo, knowing who he is, still has enough in him to swing something back his way.

He is not just my ‘goat’ but THE GREATEST.

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