RONALDO VS MESSI: A DEBATE TURNED SOUR

Football is KNOWN for its excitement, unpredictable scripts, unimaginative events, theories and jaw-dropping disappointments; It's amazing! No wonder it's regarded as the “King of Sports”. It’s incomparable. No sport come close except the Super Bowl on its day.

Fans followership has really sparked the footballing world. The social media and internet have made the job easier. You can access whatever you want, its there for the taking.
It’s no longer surprising that club football has caught the fancy of fans over National team sport. Moreover, well you could say, club football is in our faces week in week out; except for a major tournament as organized by the footballing body in the course of the calendar year, we don't get to watch our National teams.

Football is a sport that has consistently produced greats; talents have graced the pitch showing what they got: skills, flicks, dribbles, nutmegs, chips, goals etc. But even with the numerous, the discovery of talents is always on the high, everytime, everyday, new talents are discovered.

As time passed by, we saw talents evolve and fade with the tide. We saw the likes of Gerd Muller, Diego Armando Maradona, Jorge Valdano, Pele(Edson Arantes do Nascimento), Johan Cryuff, Luis Aragones, to mention but a few. These guys did great things for their respective clubs and countries, winning medals, breaking and setting records, doing things that were unimaginable. Apparently, they really stunned the world of football in their time, leaving everyone who had the opportunity to watch them play in awe.

With all due respect to these past legends; we now have Lionel Andres Messi and Cristiano Aveiro Ronaldo, the new legends. The ones who have staked a claim for themselves.

Lionel Messi (29) and Cristiano Ronaldo (31) have taken the world by surprise, with their unexpected rise to stardom, ascending the throne left behind. From their youthful days, they proved a point and announced their arrival to the football world. They have broken all records there is and set theirs, which, according to speculations, will be difficult for any other footballer to break with ease, in the next coming decade.

Take nothing away from these guys, their talent, hard-work, commitment and tenacity have really made them stun the world of football and it has given them the upper hand among their peers/colleagues. Interestingly, this is something the present day football fan should savor and enjoy while 'their legs can still carry'.

However, the system will not allow both play in the same team. You can imagine a team with both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi; their opponents will concede defeat even before the contest.

The pace, athletism and goal scoring prowess of Ronaldo coupled with the trickery, mesmerizing runs, dribbles and eagle-eye vision passes of Lionel Messi; I bet you won't want a situation for your team.

It is with this; football fans all over the world base their comparison and start their arguments.

“Who is the best? Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo”? 

This singular question has caused uproar among football fans around the world. The both geniuses ply their trade in Spain for Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively; arguably the two biggest clubs in the world.

Messi holds the record for the highest goal scorer in La Liga and Barcelona; he also tops the assist ranking since the inception of statistics in Spain beating colleague Xavi Hernandez and Real Madrid ace Luis Figo.

Ronaldo holds the record goal scorer for Real Madrid and is the present highest goal scorer in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA European competitions. The less said about these stars the better because they have really done more than we expected.

With all these records, it is quite difficult to pick a kingpin ahead of the other, therefore fans all over the world have engaged in heated arguments as to who comes out tops between the two lads with various conflicting opinions and points.

COMPARISON AND STYLE OF PLAY

Lionel Messi is known for his trickery, his goals, flicks, nutmegs, runs, skills, style of play and diminutive nature has drawn comparison with fellow country-man Diego Maradona and of course Brazilian legend Pele. Soccer pundits and journalist all over the world has stated authoritatively that Lionel Messi is actually an heir apparent to legends Pele and Maradona. It has also being a curtain raiser to dare-say that Messi is actually better than countryman Maradona. 

Cristiano Ronaldo on the other hand: tall, athletic, huge, of model stature, flexing his biceps and triceps, good with both feet, head, a goal machine, fast, hardworker and possesses a winning mentality. Well, Ronaldo happens to fall in this category which no player matches in recent years but he has been drawn alongside Lionel Messi. Nevertheless, it's not Ronaldo's fault, they both fall in the same generation of footballers.

Comparing these two stars that has helped ignite the world of football, increase long gone passion, rekindle rivalry and added spice to our viewing interest is nothing but a joke. They are 'two sides of a coin'; hence, they play different style of football entirely in different positions.

Something past legends couldn't boast of, these two have won the most prestigious football award in the last decade: the FIFA Ballon D’or. Messi (5) and Ronaldo (3). They have dominated the world of football like no other, to the extent a player in-form will not hug the headline the way these two geniuses has done since they came to limelight.

Following the introduction of these stars, the engagement in several feisty debate has really done more harm than good, its with this, we took a sneak peek on the negativity involved.

NEGATIVE EFFECT OF THE COMPARISON

The debate between fans all over the world concerning these players has resulted in heated arguments to the extent it’s becoming a thing of “survival of the fittest”. The person with the loud voice, oppressive-strong point wins the contest. It is vehemently becoming a ‘cold war’.  To some extent, the only benefit fans get is: update about their profile and statistics; you have to know much about them to engage in the arguments.  

The whole debate is worse even now that different social media platforms are available to everyone. There is never a day that passes by that you won’t scroll through a jibe, argument or trending headlines on social media platforms. Especially: Facebook or twitter. 

BREAK UP

This is not voodoo or a movie, neither is it a fallacy but the Ronaldo vs Messi argument has brought about break up in relationships and friendships. I was scrolling through my twitter timeline one afternoon which had the trending topic for the day on football twitter as 'Ronaldo Vs Messi'. I decided to tweet: 

“This Ronaldo Vs Messi argument will one day cause break ups in relationships, marriages and homes”.

A lady replied me, she was a Barca fan, her cover photo and tweets confirmed it, she said, “I broke up with my fiancé because he preferred Ronaldo over Messi”.

I was stunned, whether the story was true or not, I foresaw, suggesting that in the offing, the debate involving these two players will lead to crazy situations. We are yet to see. Why? People have choices.

 *for security reasons and hidden identity, tweets will not be published*

DIVISION

This is a general truism: that football is a united game. A universal sport, it brings people of different races, country, traditions and religion together.

However, following the razzmatazz and shenanigans involving the Ronaldo and Messi fans, it has led to division among fans. This has given birth to a certain group of people today called the 'Messi fans and the 'Ronaldo fans.

The Ronaldo Fans

They are made up of fans from Portugal, his former clubs Sporting Lisbon and Manchester United, Real Madrid. We also have the fans who appreciates his swag and show boy personality and style, physique, appearance, athleticism, hard-work, style of football, tenacity and of course, the Messi haters.

Messi fans

Messi fans consist of Argentina, Newell Old Boys and Barcelona supporters. Others are fans who likes his football techniques, trickery, skills, talent and Barcelona's entertaining tiki-taka and of course Ronaldo haters. There are also others who appreciate Messi’s alleged humility on and off the field of play.

ALLEGIANCE

The Messi Vs Ronaldo argument has really eaten deep into football. It is gradually becoming an epidemic. Fans allegiance is now divided and no longer genuine. Normally, during the old days, football fans either support their club or country not favorite players’ club or country.

Let’s look at this instance: in a game where Argentina is playing Peru; Messi haters will support a Peru who by all levels and ramification stands no chance against Argentina.  A Ronaldo fan will vie for Portugal ahead of Germany.

The 'famzing' and star player support has erased the major reason we watch football, that's entertainment, passion and results. Rarely do fans take note of other players, good football and style of play other teams display on the pitch. There ULTIMATE concern is: Ronaldo and Messi. 

Part of which is a tremendous eye-sore on the part of the football governing body. It all happened in the year 2013, when the FIFA president openly pledged his love for Messi and his detest for Ronaldo during a congress in Zurich weeks before the FIFA Ballon D’or awards was to take place.

Blatter said “Messi is a perfect son-in-law, he is humble, quiet and talented, the other one is a brut who shows himself and exaggerates his pride everywhere, more like a gang”. 

The resultant effect was: the extension of the awards voting duration from its normal deadline. This singular action caught the eye of the world and it raised unending and topical controversies. 

It encompasses both soccer pundits, journalists, coaches and players. They all have their favorite. Football awards involving these two players is no longer genuine; fans, footballers, coaches and journalist only vote for their favorite player whether the award is deserved or not. There is always a case for their favorite star.

This singular obsession for the most talented geniuses over the last decade has really depreciated football and what it stands for. We no longer watch the game; we pay keen attention to what either of Messi or Ronaldo do on the pitch week in week out. Funny enough, the decline in the performance of one leads to an aggravated debate of the other.

It has also succeeded in drawing the attention of fans away from teams and players of high quality. Part of the allegiance is: fans extending their followership of their favorite star to his country. Real Madrid fans are now Portugal supporters. Barcelona fans now support Argentina. This is crazy! 

HATRED

Whether we like it or yes, there is hatred and bad blood between the Ronaldo fans and the Messi fans. I have witnessed a situation where two opposing fans engaged in an argument that led to an uncontrollable fight.

There is rivalry, fiendish tempers and cold war between the Messi and Ronaldo fans. People use abusive words and jibes on themselves only to prove a point. It’s all over the social media.

At what price!!?? Why are football fans fighting and arguing over who the best among the two most talented footballers this generation has seen in the last decade is?

We always preach the slogan “football without violence”.

Way back when the legends of old graced the pitch, things weren’t like this. Football was a game of passion, everyone enjoyed it. Fans where truthful, committed and dedicated to their respective club and country. There was no special star treatment, no fans 'famzing', and no favorite star allegiance over the other. Other talents were appreciated and applauded by opposing fans, teams were recognized and appreciated. To an extent, football was pure and true; void of favoritism and undiluted allegiance. The violence we had then, was club or country rivalry. 

Fans should savor this moment where the gods of football has blessed us with the two best players in the world.  Nevertheless, Football is an entertainment, Learn to love it, watch it and live it! If you want to engage in arguments of any sort, State the points, Use the facts and figures, Educate one another and above all, Appreciate the talents of the lads. 

Once again, it’s One Game… Football Without Violence!

Written by Williams Prince C.

Tags: Sports, Ronaldo, Messi, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Spain, La Liga.

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