By Isaac Akugizibwe,
PARROTS UG | SPORTS ANALYSIS: The year 2021 will take long to get out of the minds of Argentine star man Lionel Messi and his fans. From winning a long awaited major intercontinental trophy with his country to leaving Barcelona in disbelief, things will never be the same again.His comparison to Cristiano Ronaldo is also taking a new twist.
His national glory dream finally came to pass after his side beat Brazil 1-0 in Copa America finals at Maracana stadium an epitome that would enthral his fans especially when he confirmed few days after the final that he was staying at Barcelona.
Despite agreeing to have his wages cut by 50 percent, he and the football world were shocked when Barcelona president Juan Larpota announced on August 5th 2021 that the club was unable to keep their captain due to financial and structural obstacles. This marked the end of Messi’s 21 year stay at his life-long club Barcelona.
Comparing Messi and Ronaldo is one of the most emotional and unending debates on social media and major hangouts worldwide with each side saying their star is the best. This debate which begun as early as 2008 has stretched to twelve years and still running.
Winning the Copa America seems to have given Lionel Messi an edge over Cristiano Ronaldo whose side failed to defend the Euros, his only major international treasure but Messi’s departure from his life-long club gives his critics chance to judge him from another club or league something Ronaldo has already accomplished successfully playing in four different leagues and clubs.The 36 year old started his career at Sporting Lisbon before joining Manchester United,Real Madrid and Juventus.
Despite scoring and doing everything possible against most top European clubs he’s encoutered with Barcelona, Many book makers, critics and football fans have always wanted to examine Messi’s ability while playing for a different club in order to create a balance in the world’s biggest football debate. Like Cristiano, Messi is a naturally gifted player with extra ordinary ambition for success capable of making him excellent whereever he goes.
The overral concensus from the experts,the fans ,soccer players and coaches is that the moment has come for Messi to prove his odds wrong by shining in another club and league in order to cement his superiority in the beautiful game. With Neymar and Kylian Mbappe at PSG, Messi has chance to lead yet another great trio remiscent to his deadly combination alongside Louis Suarez and Neymar at Barcelona between 2014 and 2017 if he joins the French giants.
Messi simply needs to win the Eufa Champions league for Paris Saint Germain or any other club and perhaps shine in Quarter 2022 to cement his worth. Should he triumph at a club like PSG, he could end the debate that has lasted a decade.The football world still thinks neither Messi nor Ronaldo is a pontent heir to the throne of the beautiful game upon which sits Brazilian legend, Edson Arantez Donacemento Pele.
Beating Brazil at the historic Maracana stadium speaks volumes of Messi and Argentina especially in their contest to revive their Soccer superiority but the 34 year old will need atleast a world cup trophy to dethrone the man many still consider the best ever.
It is the lack of a world cup winners medal that many football fans rate the likes of Ronaldo Nazario Phenomenal and Ronaldinho abit higher than the longest serving competitive duo in world football, Messi and Ronaldo.It is due to their consistent unrivaled performance that experts and analysts think, Messi and Ronaldo should top the all time best list but due to his collosal achievements in the game during and after his career, displacing Pele remains the only challenge.
Pele won three world cups with the Selecao, a record no football player since the inception of the game has ever matched. His contribution to Santos football club was immeasurable making the club one of the most famous and successful football clubs in world football history to mention a goal tally of over 1000 career goals. Incredible!
Nevertheless he never played in a popular league yet he remains loyal to the game itself. Despite their achievements so far, it is rather still difficult to convince a layman that a man who never won a world cup is better than the one who won three. Whoever claim s the games greatest award in 2022 will surely clear their way to the throne.This could prove their very last attempt.
However,both Messi and Ronaldo still have a chance to redeem the top position on the greatest of all time list should any of them win the 2022 world cup in Quatar. With high chances that a seventh Ballon d’or prize will soon be added to a list of his collection, Lionel Messi stands more chances of being crowned the greatest of all time compared to Ronaldo should he impress in Quatar.
Messi won four champions league and 10 Laliga trophies among others with Barcelona while Ronaldo has won five champions league trophies,one with Manchester United in 2008 and four with Real Madrid. He has won a league or more for every club he has played for apart from his childhood club Sporting Lisbon.
