Who is the best footballer in the world? Who is the best footballer of all time? These are questions that are posed in playgrounds and pubs all across the world on a daily basis. In reference to the first question, there are two names that will probably crop up 99 times out of 100: Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Now, you can debate who is the better of the two until the sun goes down – and believe me, I probably have. But the real question has now moved to if there is any point in having this debate at all. I reckon there really isn’t and that’s why we need the keys to open Room 433 (again nothing like Room 101) to put this debate where it belongs.
It is obvious that both Ronaldo and Messi are once in a generation talents. But it is not really empirically possible to conclude that one is better than the other. For example, Ronaldo has scored nearly 40 goals more than Messi, but in 200 more appearances. I’m not a huge fan of individual awards in football but both men have won the Ballon D’Or five times. So is any comparison between these two greats relatively futile? I would argue yes.
In my eyes, Messi and Ronaldo are the two best players of all time. Admittedly, I’m not really qualified to judge how good the likes of Pele and Maradonna were. Personally, I reckon Messi is a better all-round footballer than CR7 (which by the way is a perfect example of how footballers are more brands than people these days), but if you think the opposite way around that’s absolutely fine.
Social media is where this debate gets a bit ridiculous. Seemingly every time one of the two players posts anything on Twitter it ignites an absolute war between some pretty intense fans. Yes, it’s good to be passionate about football, yes it is good to get involved in debates on social media. But needless insults on every single post is incredibly boring and just not helpful.
So, it’s time to end the never-ending debate about who is greater and lock the Messi vs Ronaldo argument in Room 433. They’re both great and both will always be great. Let’s just accept we are all very lucky to have witnessed them both play in our lifetime and in the same era. Although, obviously Messi is better.
If you have a footballing pet peeve that you want to be locked away in Room 433 get in touch. If you want to read another induction into Room 433, click here.
