Cristiano Ronaldo or Messi: The Never Ending Debate

In this modern era of football, we are all blessed to see on the pitch two players that fall in the category of the greatest players of all time without a doubt.

They are also in the fight for the best player alive, which became a continuous debate on every magazine cover, every social media platform and in every conversation about football.

The fans of both players come with their arguments on why is one better than the other.

Messi can't head the ball and he only plays well at Barcelona while for the national team he's useless. Ronaldo is the penalty king and his skills are just for show-off but without efficiency.

All this parade of arguments, discussions and debates will never reach an agreement.

You know why?

Because you CAN'T compare them!

There are both unique players with a unique style of playing that doesn't need comparing. It doesn't matter how they choose to play.

All that matters is the results they produce, the games they win, the goals they score, the chances they create, the trophies they win.

It matters the joy they bring to us when we watch them play the game we all love with all our hearts. The unexpected outcomes they produce on the field, the skills that mesmerize us and the emotions they bring within us.

That's what is all about.

So, no more judging about Ronaldo scoring only with tap-ins because, behind the scenes, there is a whole another level of understanding the principles of the game, positioning, being able to react faster than anyone and being the right man at the right moment.

No more judging about Messi's dependency on Barcelona players when you can find endless highlights of him scoring solo goals or creating chances all by himself.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't pick one as you favorite player because everyone has a player that resonates with them much more than other players, but don't begin that negative judging and insulting just because there is a rivalry on the pitch between them.

Now that I explained why comparing and judging Ronaldo and Messi is useless and without a point, you may wonder who I like better from the two, or even may incline to believe that I have no dominant choice between them.

So, to clarify that, in my eyes Messi is in proportion of 95% the greatest player ever and at the same time "better" than Ronaldo just because for me, he has a greater impact on the game. Here, I'm talking about the overall statistics of goals, assists, chances created, the efficiency of his movements and the magical moments he produces.

He is able at any given moment to take on by himself 3-4 players or even more, he gets out of seemingly impossible situations, has some unreal passing skills, is a scoring machine and what impresses me a lot is the way he endures all the hard tackles, shirt grabbing and pushes with such a small body.

His ball control and technique is from another planet even in the tightest spaces and he somehow manages to dribble the ball while running at full speed, which is truly remarkable.

You surely heard that quote: "Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work."

The thing is...

MESSI HAS BOTH!

You can see his unbelievable talent just by watching highlights of him when he was young with the same movement and playing style like today. But none of the achievements he got by today would be possible if he wouldn't put those endless hours of hard work behind.

Yes, Ronaldo may have a bigger work ethic than him in my opinion, but Messi is more talented and when you combine talent with hard work than there's nothing else someone can do to beat you.

Lionel Messi may be my favorite player, but with all of this, I still enjoy watching Cristiano Ronaldo play A LOT!

His work ethic and obsession for winning is something you see only at the best of the best and, in my opinion, this is what helped him reach this unbelievable level and these accomplishments.

Beyond that, his understanding of the game is something you see extremely rarely. He is always at the right spot and always knows where the ball is coming, where the opponent is, where his teammates are and how to get to the ball faster than anybody else. I'm convinced that this is the result of thousands of hours of studying the game.

His professionalism is also higher than 99% of the athletes in this world. There are hundreds of stories about his commitment and discipline to training, lifestyle and the nutrition needed to keep being on top every year.

In a recent medical test conducted by his team, Juventus, it was disclosed that his body fat was 7% (10-11% for avg. pros), 50% muscle mass( 46% for avg. pros) and a metabolic age of 23 while his real age was 33.

Another impressive story of his obsession for getting better was told by Carlo Ancelotti, his former coach at Real Madrid. Ancelotti said that he likes the documentary about Ronaldo but it doesn't tell the whole story about his professionalism. He continued by saying that after a European game, Ronaldo went back to the training ground at 3 a.m. to take an ice bath for recovery.

To end this chapter, for me Ronaldo is a role-model when it comes to hard work and commitment to reaching your goals and if all the players would be like him, we would see a lot more players fighting amongst him and Messi for Ballon d'Or.

To sum it up, with this writing I wanted to show people why we shouldn't bash Cristiano Ronaldo or Messi, or any other player just because they aren't our favorite player.

Instead, we should enjoy the beautiful moments, experiences and incredible feelings they give us by playing the way they do and producing unimaginable outcomes on the pitch.

It's okay to support one or another but respect them both at the same time because in the end, it is all about the game we all love, FOOTBALL!!

They even admitted that they both push each other a little bit harder, so it is in our advantage if they just become better and better because it is forcing them to produce more moments of pure magic.

Once they retire, we will desperately want them back on the field to bring on the joy but it will be too late. As the saying goes...

"You only appreciate something when it's gone."

In the end, all we have to do is just enjoy two players that are now the standard option when it comes to choosing the best player in the world for the last 10 years and at the same time, two players that changed the game of football in ways we never imagined.