Who is the greatest soccer player of all time — Messi or Ronaldo?

After the ferry tail ending of the 2022 FIFA Soccer World Cup for Lionel Messi, many sports pundits and soccer fans concluded that the “GOAT” debate has been settled now and Messi is the greatest soccer player of all time.

I have a different point of view!

Who is Greater?

I disagree with the notion that Messi is greater than Ronaldo or Vice Versa for that matter.

Thanks to their talent, hard work and incredible skill with the soccer ball, we have witnessed an incredibly exciting period of the soccer over the past two decades.

As soon as they touch the soccer ball, something wonderful is always bound to happen. As anchors for their teams — league or international, they both have a habit of turning the games upside down and in their favour. I don’t think this can be said about any other player other than these two.

They both are great players and we don’t have to bring one player down to put the other on the pedestal.

Messi and Ronaldo have pushed the limits of what is humanly possible on the soccer pitch because they have wanted to outdo each other so badly. Whenever they possess the soccer ball on the pitch, they dazzle us with their skills and passion for the sport.

Cristiano aka CR7 and Lionel Messi have been fighting for the top spot in the sport of soccer for almost two decades. Now that they both are in the twilight of their careers, it is a testament to their greatness that they are still considered the best soccer players in the world.

Messi wouldn’t be here without Ronaldo and Ronaldo wouldn’t be here without Messi — as they both are responsible for each other’s greatness.

Until recently Ronaldo and Messi had taken turns winning the Ballon D’or — soccer’s best player award for more than a decade.

Soccer is a Team Sport

With or without the world cup they both are great players and it is unfair to attribute the failure of Portugal to win the world cup to Cristiano and the success of Argentina entirely to Messi.

Even after great individual performances, it should be kept in mind that soccer is a team sport and Messi wouldn’t have won the world cup had it not been for some clutch performances by the Argentinean Goalie Martinez.

This cannot be said for Portugal who lost to a spirited Morocco 1–0 in the quarter-finals. Just because Ronaldo’s team didn’t perform on the big stage, does not mean that he is not a great player. Keep in mind he didn’t play for all of 90 minutes when it mattered.

Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo is a superhuman amongst us mere mortals!

CR7 in his late 30s is still performing at the highest level of Soccer with the same passion and tenacity as he was at the beginning of his career.

Cristiano’s presence on and off the pitch is next to none, his speed, stamina, athletic ability and sheer will to succeed are hallmarks of his greatness as a player and a human being.

Ronaldo’s clutch ability to perform when his team needs him the most is truly inspiring and something admirable. He thrives under immense pressure and that is when we see his skills and awe-inspiring magic moments from him.

Lionel Messi

Messi — well what cannot be said about him?

He is a magician — Messi creates chances out of nowhere. His game awareness and skill are next to none. Many times I have seen him beat more than half of the oppositions team to score goals

As long as Messi is on the pitch and there is time he can win the game and this is why you can find so many instances where he has scored right before stoppage time and won the game.

Messi is not only a great goal scorer but also a master tactician of the game, he plays soccer like a chess game —the Argentinian can predict how the defender will react to his sudden movements and places the ball proactively well in advance before the other player can react.

He makes plays that I will be unable to make in FIFA 22 let alone comprehend in real life.

The list of accolades of these two will take most of the article so I chose not to write about it

Let us celebrate them equally

Both are great players and instead of debating on who is greater of the two, I think we should celebrate that we have witnessed them play soccer in our lifetime.

Nothing is eternal and time will make everything rust even the memories of these two soccer greats.

Let’s give them both equal respect and honour — doing so won’t make both of their careers any less spectacular. Let’s celebrate them equally and stop wasting our time debating who has cemented his “GOAT” status because two to three decades down the road, very few will remember how good these two players were.