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[GHG]

This was his first hatrick in WC qualifiers after a decade of playing against scrubs.

Goat I think not.

 

[Cappa]

Lmao ronaldinho better than messi.

this thread is amazing.

Had Ronaldinho laid off the booze, drugs and hookers he absolutely would be considered the best of all time. There is no doubt in my mind about that.

Ronaldinho could single handedly destroy teams. Yes Messi has that amazing games too but Ronaldinho was pretty much every match. He could dribble, pass, score, had speed, strength.

If Ronaldinho isn't in top 3 discussion you're mad or delusional.

 

[veryslowhand]

a true role model....

 

[Haunted]

Both Ronaldo and Messi might go into the pantheon of best players to never win it, in that B-tier under the true GOATs which players like Platini, Eusebio, di Stefano or Cruyff inhabit.

 

[TheMagician]

*Sometimes*

Yes.

*Sometimes*

>.>



It's almost like they're two insanely consistent and good players that get numbers any other player would kill for. Almost.

The best player in the world isn't decided by how many goals a player scores. It's decided by their overall quality. Just because Ronaldo scores as many goals as Messi doesn't mean he's as good as him.

As I said, take away the goals from Messi and he's still amazing. The most skillful, the best dribbler, the best passer, the most exciting and watchable etc.

Messi has all of the below combined -

The goals of Ronaldo
The skill and dribbles of Maradona
The vision and passing of Zidane
The elegance and creativity of Cruyff

 

[veryslowhand]

Living proof of that PEDs work wonders.

 

[MrS]

The best player in the world isn't decided by how many goals a player scores. It's decided by their overall quality. Just because Ronaldo scores as many goals as Messi doesn't mean he's as good as him.

As I said, take away the goals from Messi and he's still amazing. The most skillful, the best dribbler, the best passer, the most exciting and watchable etc.

Messi has all of the below combined -

The goals of Ronaldo
The skill and dribbles of Maradona
The vision and passing of Zidane
The elegance and creativity of Cruyff

The international achievements of Emile Heskey

 

[Perfect Blue]

Both Ronaldo and Messi might go into the pantheon of best players to never win it, in that B-tier under the true GOATs which players like Platini, Eusebio, di Stefano or Cruyff inhabit.

Eusebio and di Stefano? Are you in your 70s?

 

[turmoil]

I hate GOAT discussion.

So irrational, even by sport-talk standards

 

[Earthbound64]

Fuck that cunt.

<3

 

[Bruce Springsteen]

A hat trick to save Argentina’s WC qualifying hopes. Really the greatest to ever play.

Meanwhile Ronaldo today tripping over himself and trying too hard to score. Amazing what happens when the entire squad isn’t set up for him to score tap-ins vs. heavyweights like Getafe.

GOAT to barely qualify with a squad like Argentina?

 

[Firemind]

Had Ronaldinho laid off the booze, drugs and hookers he absolutely would be considered the best of all time. There is no doubt in my mind about that.

Ronaldinho could single handedly destroy teams. Yes Messi has that amazing games too but Ronaldinho was pretty much every match. He could dribble, pass, score, had speed, strength.

If Ronaldinho isn't in top 3 discussion you're mad or delusional.

lol good one mate

 

[AnotherDayAnotherDollar]

Landon Donovan is the GOAT. He always made it to the WC.

 

[Xenoboy]

Messi has the personality of a pineapple, so no he's no goat. At least Ronaldo is fun.

 

[RangerX]

Easily the greatest player I've seen in my lifetime and I'd imagine of all time. Its not football, its magic.

 

[cw_sasuke]

It's been known.... He is the Prince that was Promised of the soccer world.

 

[Perfect Blue]

GOAT to barely qualify with a squad like Argentina?

Without Messi Argentina managed a massive 9 points from the 8 games Messi wasn't in.

He is their entire team.

 

[-x.Red.x-]

I fully agree. With the us and Ecuador out. I'm rooting for arg all the way. Back to back finals. Messi will do it.

 

[Bersi]

Messi could single handedly destroy teams. Yes Ronaldinho has that amazing games too but Messi was pretty much every match. He could dribble, pass, score, had speed, strength.

If Messi isn't in top 3 discussion you're mad or delusional.

There,i fixed your post.

 

[marc^o^]

Obligatory read: https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/lionel-messi-is-impossible/

Zidane’s elegance will always have my preference, but as a french, neutral guy on this topic, Messi is the best football player I have seen in my life. CR7 has the best mental of all time and he is top 3 of all time influencial player. But what Messi does extends beyond scoring goals, and transcends holding a world cup. He’s the most complete player there is. 11 Messi clones would beat 11 CR7 clones anyday. Too much technique, controls, passing, shooting, penetrations. Messi is impossible.

 

[Elfstar]

Sure, let's see what happens when the actual World Cup begins.

 

[LeleSocho]

Celebrated because he barely qualified for the World Cup? Yeah...that's totally GOAT material /s

Until he manages to win the World Cup and do it the way Diego Armando Maradona did he won't ever be close to the title of greatest of all time.

 

[Imp the Dimp]

GOAT at being second best

 

[kinggroin]

He's ok

 

[jm89]

Celebrated because he barely qualified for the World Cup? Yeah...that's totally GOAT material /s

Until he manages to win the World Cup and do it the way Diego Armando Maradona did he won't ever be close to the title of greatest of all time.

What he does for barca is enough to put him up there.

 

[onepiecefan]

It's both hilarious and sad to see Ronaldo fanboys finding ways to belittle this. Seriously grow up, fanboys are the worst.

 

[GeordieMark]

Easily the greatest player I've seen in my lifetime and I'd imagine of all time. Its not football, its magic.

Same. Messi's achievements are ridiculous and he regularly makes good players look like pub league players. He is head and shoulders above anyone who has played in the last 30 years.

Would have been interesting to see how Maradona would have got on if he'd played these days and had not been subjected to assaults by the opposition every weekend though. He's the only player I've ever seen who might be able to compete with Messi.

 

[LegendofDragoonLives]

GOAT with how many World Cups?

Or Copas lol

Gonna go with Federer

You're not wrong breh

 

[Mesousa]

Same. Messi's achievements are ridiculous and he regularly makes good players look like pub league players. He is head and shoulders above anyone who has played in the last 30 years.

Would have been interesting to see how Maradona would have got on if he'd played these days and had not been subjected to assaults by the opposition every weekend though. He's the only player I've ever seen who might be able to compete with Messi.

You really gonna act like Brazilian Ronaldo never walked this earth?

 

[LiK]

He's a huge Harley fan.

 

[RocknRola]

The best player in the world isn't decided by how many goals a player scores. It's decided by their overall quality. Just because Ronaldo scores as many goals as Messi doesn't mean he's as good as him.

As I said, take away the goals from Messi and he's still amazing. The most skillful, the best dribbler, the best passer, the most exciting and watchable etc.

Messi has all of the below combined -

The goals of Ronaldo
The skill and dribbles of Maradona
The vision and passing of Zidane
The elegance and creativity of Cruyff

--

A quick note before the rest of the reply: Ronaldo has more goals in total, so no they don't score the "same". They're similar, in the same way their assist rate is super similar (and total numbers are close) with Messi having the lead, but not the same, no. Fair is fair.

--

The issue with your whole argument is that it's, like most of these arguments, purely subjective. You saying he is "the most skillful, the best dribbler, the best passer, the most exciting and watchable etc" doesn't exactly make it true for me or anyone else.

Best dribbler and passer I've seen play live? Ronaldinho, by a whole order of class above anyone else (Messi and Ronaldo included).
Most exciting? For me, again Ronaldinho. Dude destroyed teams for breakfast. Had he the consistency these two have and IMO there'd be no discussion about any of this. Though, again, subjective on my part.

If you ask older people (like my dad, on his 60's) he'll likely say Maradona for all of the above.

That's not even to get into the argument that they're massively different players to even compare to begin with. You don't expect Messi to smash balls from outside the area like Ronaldo does, nor score the insane headers Ronaldo does and conversely you don't expect Ronaldo to pull off the 1-2 walls Messi does or score the lovely curlers Messi does. They're not the same type of players nor do they even play in the same positions for the most part.

I'll repeat Diego Forlan's quote as my stance on all of this:

"We are just lucky to be able to watch Messi and Ronaldo at their best. Enjoy them while they last."

We're witnessing the most consistent top players in all of Football's history. None and I mean NONE, have managed to consistently pull the numbers they pull nor the performances they achieve year after year after year for more than a decade now.

The last Ballon D'Or that wasn't won by either Ronaldo or Messi was in 2007. That's 10 years ago. And by then they were already shining on their clubs. Insanity. Literal, insanity.

They broke records no one assumed would ever get broken and not only did they break them, they made their own records which will also remain untouched for several years if not decades.

Enjoy them. Pick one if you must, but just drop the bullshit and enjoy them for what they are. Two fantastic players competing each year to be the best.

Both Ronaldo and Messi might go into the pantheon of best players to never win it, in that B-tier under the true GOATs which players like Platini, Eusebio, di Stefano or Cruyff inhabit.

Remind me what International Cups Eusebio and Cruyff won again please.

 

[Shanks D Zoro]

Funny way of spelling Totti.

Messi is making an extremely good case for being the greatest human to have ever played the game.

 

[Elfotografoalocado]

Had Ronaldinho laid off the booze, drugs and hookers he absolutely would be considered the best of all time. There is no doubt in my mind about that.

Ronaldinho could single handedly destroy teams. Yes Messi has that amazing games too but Ronaldinho was pretty much every match. He could dribble, pass, score, had speed, strength.

If Ronaldinho isn't in top 3 discussion you're mad or delusional.

But he didn't. That's why he's not the GOAT.

 

[88random]

Nah. He might be the best in the world (and even that is doubtful lately), but he's not GOAT.

 

[LegendofDragoonLives]

Had Ronaldinho laid off the booze, drugs and hookers he absolutely would be considered the best of all time. There is no doubt in my mind about that.

Ronaldinho could single handedly destroy teams. Yes Messi has that amazing games too but Ronaldinho was pretty much every match. He could dribble, pass, score, had speed, strength.

If Ronaldinho isn't in top 3 discussion you're mad or delusional.

Ronaldinho is not not anywhere near top 3, lay off the drugs.

 

[Loris146]

--

A quick note before the rest of the reply: Ronaldo has more goals in total, so no they don't score the "same". They're similar, in the same way their assist rate is super similar (and total numbers are close) with Messi having the lead, but not the same, no. Fair is fair.

--

The issue with your whole argument is that it's, like most of these arguments, purely subjective. You saying he is "the most skillful, the best dribbler, the best passer, the most exciting and watchable etc" doesn't exactly make it true for me or anyone else.

Best dribbler and passer I've seen play live? Ronaldinho, by a whole order of class above anyone else (Messi and Ronaldo included).
Most exciting? For me, again Ronaldinho. Dude destroyed teams for breakfast. Had he the consistency these two have and IMO there'd be no discussion about any of this. Though, again, subjective on my part.

If you ask older people (like my dad, on his 60's) he'll likely say Maradona for all of the above.

That's not even to get into the argument that they're massively different players to even compare to begin with. You don't expect Messi to smash balls from outside the area like Ronaldo does, nor score the insane headers Ronaldo does and conversely you don't expect Ronaldo to pull off the 1-2 walls Messi does or score the lovely curlers Messi does. They're not the same type of players nor do they even play in the same positions for the most part.

I'll repeat Diego Forlan's quote as my stance on all of this:


We're witnessing the most consistent top players in all of Football's history. None and I mean NONE, have managed to consistently pull the numbers they pull nor the performances they achieve year after year after year for more than a decade now.

The last Ballon D'Or that wasn't won by either Ronaldo or Messi was in 2007. That's 10 years ago. And by then they were already shining on their clubs. Insanity. Literal, insanity.

They broke records no one assumed would ever get broken and not only did they break them, they made their own records which will also remain untouched for several years if not decades.

Enjoy them. Pick one if you must, but just drop the bullshit and enjoy them for what they are. Two fantastic players competing each year to be the best.



Remind me what International Cups Eusebio and Cruyff won again please.

The balon d'Or is different from what it was before though. With the old system players like Iniesta , Milito/ Snjeider would have won balon d'or for example.

 

[RocknRola]

The balon d'Or is different from what it was before though. With the old system players like Iniesta , Milito/ Snjeider would have won balon d'or for example.

Ronaldo's 1st Ballon D'Or was wih the "old system" still, so was Messi's if I'm not mistaken. The FIFA merger happened in 2010 if I remember correctly.

That said, in 2016 it returned to France Football's control once more.

 

[ExoSoul]

Eusebio and di Stefano? Are you in your 70s?

Do you know how football was played then? Were they born now these guys would be playing catch-up.

 

[Sato Koiji]

What did he do in the finals against germany again? Somebody remind me please...

 

[His Majesty]

Had Ronaldinho laid off the booze, drugs and hookers he absolutely would be considered the best of all time. There is no doubt in my mind about that.

Ronaldinho could single handedly destroy teams. Yes Messi has that amazing games too but Ronaldinho was pretty much every match. He could dribble, pass, score, had speed, strength.

If Ronaldinho isn't in top 3 discussion you're mad or delusional.

Ronaldinho for Barça: 0.48 goals/game (145 games)
Messi for Barça: 0.90 goals/game (389 games)

pls be serious, Messi is in another league compared to Ronaldinho

 

[Doc_Drop]

GOAT discussions are impossible in sport anyway due to advancing sports technology, medicine, and rule changes.

You need to go by era, and this is the era of Messi/Ronaldo

 

[gutter_trash]

GOAT is CR7 during last Champions League performing hat tricks versus Bayern then Atletico back to back.

Messi dominating Ecuador is not comparable

 

[Brofist]

 

[Regginator]

.

 

[Haunted]

Remind me what International Cups Eusebio and Cruyff won again please.

No, that's what I meant. These are also great players... who never won a title.


gotta lead a team to the world cup title to become the goat

 

[Sgtpepper89]

Truly dominating to barely survive into playoffs by beating a already eliminated team.

Compare that to CR7 going 9-0-1 and beating scary opponents like Latvia and a bunch of danes hiding on islands.

 

[Lupercal]

Ronaldinho for Barça: 0.48 goals/game (145 games)
Messi for Barça: 0.90 goals/game (389 games)

pls be serious, Messi is in another league compared to Ronaldinho

When will Messi play in a real league tho ?

 

[Principate]

It's been known.... He is the Prince that was Promised of the soccer world.

Is that title short for "Prince that was Promised but never delivered"

 

[Sato Koiji]

Yes but he didnt contribute because he didnt play the finals.

 

[SargerusBR]

Better than the overrated CR7 that's for sure