“If you like Cristiano, you don’t have to hate Messi. The two changed the history of football and are respected. Rivalry? I don’t see those things like that, we shared the stage for 15 years. I’m not saying we are friends but we respect each other,” Ronaldo told reporters, earlier this year in September suggesting that the rivalry between the two players is over considering they have left European football.
The GOATS – Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are no longer playing in Europe but the void they have left in their former clubs are yet to be filled. Messi had a massive legacy at Barcelona and then he joined Paris Saint-Germain for a couple of seasons where things didn’t work out well at the club level but the Argentine achieved his ultimate dream of winning the World Cup – Qatar 2022. Meanwhile, Ronaldo’s exit from Manchester United wasn’t the ideal one. The Portuguese legend had some differences with his manager Erik Ten Hag and things turned ugly when the 37-year-old gave an interview to Piers Morgan where he aimed shots at the club and the bosses.
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The two football greats dominated European football for about 15 years when they fought against each other to achieve the ‘Greatest of All Time’ tag and with the World Cup trophy in his kitty Messi took the edge over Ronaldo in the ultimate race.
Messi’s Legacy in Europe
“I will love it and I think I deserve it. Messi is a fantastic guy and a fantastic player, but I think after I have six, or seven, or eight then I’ll be more above him,” Ronaldo told Piers Morgan in his 2021 interview.
However, it looks like Ronaldo’s dream is Messi’s reality as the Argentine bid adieu to Europe last season and with another Ballon d’Or win this year he won his 8th – three more than second-best CR7.
Messi’s brilliance is not limited to his 704 goals. Despite not being considered as an out-and-out goal-scorer or striker – Messi’s numbers are second to none in European football.
The Argentine was the poster boy of Barcelona’s golden era and won four Champions League trophies, 10 League titles, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 7 Copa del Rey, and 3 FIFA Club World Cups during his 17-year-long spell at the club at senior level.
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It was a heartbreaking exit for the 8-time Ballon d’Or winner as a few days after winning his first Copa America title he was told by Barcelona that they wouldn’t be able to extend his contract due to financial problems.
Messi left the club with tears in his eyes as thousands of fans at Barcelona are still waiting for his farewell which President Joan Laporta has said will happen when Camp Nou will get renovated completely.
Messi’s career at Barcelona was arguably the greatest by any player at a single club. He had reportedly offers from clubs across Europe but La Pulga decided to join PSG to reunite with his former teammate Neymar Jr.
He went to Paris to form a trio alongside Neymar and Kylian Mbappe to end the club’s Champions League drought. The trio managed to disrupt Ligue 1 but both Mauricio Pochettino and Christophe Galtier failed to prepare a plan to use them well in the European competition.
Ronaldo’s Legacy in Europe
CR7 dominated European football on his own terms as he conquered the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A to become one of the greatest of all time. Ronaldo became a bonafide star during his first spell at Manchester United where he scored 118 goals in 292 games. He won three Premier League titles, 1 Champions League, 1 FA Cup, 2 English Cup and English Super Cup respectively. He also won the Ballon d’Or in 2008 – as he remains the last player from the Premier League to win the Golden Ball.
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The Portuguese star joined Real Madrid in 2009 to take his game to another level as he went on to become arguably the greatest player in the Spanish club’s history. It started the iconic rivalry between Messi and Ronaldo – the two stars helped each other take their game to another level and attained the level of GOATs.
“It was only a so-called ‘battle’. In a sporting sense, it was really good, we fed off each other because we are very competitive. He always wanted to beat everyone and win everything. It was a very nice period for us and for people who like football in general. I think what we did for so long was very admirable,” Messi told AS in an interview.
He transformed his game in Spain and from a midfielder at United he became an out-and-out goalscorer at Santiago Bernabeu. He was the main guy in the three-peat Champions League winning squad for Real Madrid, however, after his last UCL triumph there in 2018, Ronaldo decided to write a new chapter in his career at Turin. He netted 450 goals for Madrid and finished as the club’s leading goal-scorer.
Ronaldo had a mixed spell at Juventus where he achieved great heights at a personal level but failed to lead to a Champions League triumph.
After scoring 101 goals for Juventus, Ronaldo made a sensational move back to Manchester United in 2021. It was a homecoming for the prodigal son at Old Trafford but the ending left everyone with bitterness.
In 2022, the club and the player mutually decided to terminate his contract after Ronaldo’s explosive interview with Piers Morgan where he lashed out at the club and Erik Ten Hag who didn’t give the Portuguese star much chances after his arrival as manager.
He finished his European football club with 701 goals — three less than Messi.
Life of GOATs Outside Europe
After leaving United, Ronaldo made a shocking move to Saudi Arabia where he joined Al Nassr on December 31, 2023. It was not welcomed by several fans and critics but the Portuguese star managed to begin a big revolution in Saudi as a season later several star players from European clubs – Karim Benzema, Neymar Jr, Ngolo Kanter and others joined the clubs at the Gulf Nation to boost Saudi Pro League.
Meanwhile, after completing football with a World Cup triumph, Messi decided to leave Europe and joined Inter Miami to revolutionise soccer in America. The Argentine drew attention from all quarters in the US and also became the first football star to become the Times magazine’s Athlete of the Year for 2023
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