We have been incredibly privileged over the last 15 years, to witness 2 of the greatest, if not the greatest footballers of all time. Quite honestly, I don’t have time to go fully into the debate of who’s better than who, or which player has done the biggest or best things in the game. Instead, I want to celebrate both players and their immense talents, therefore on my football bucket list, I have to witness the greatness of these 2 legends before it’s too late.

In this post, I will discuss why watching these 2 greats in person is on my bucket list (if that even needs explaining), and then I will celebrate each of the G.O.A.T.S individually, and will do my best to not compare them, as now is not the time for that, now is the time to enjoy and celebrate. The debating can happen later.

*All information correct at time of writing (January 2021)*.

Why It’s On My Bucket List…

I honestly debated whether or not to put this section into this piece, as quite frankly, it’s obvious why this is on my bucket list. It’ bloody MESSI & RONALDO.

When I include these players onto my bucket list, what I mean is to actually, in the flesh, witness the 2 greats play live. Ideally, in a competition against one another, however besides from a possible Champions League clash, or a World Cup matchup, I just may have missed the boat on this one. They did meet in this year’s (2020/2021) Champions League group stage, however the possibility of travelling is impossible, meaning that there are now further obstacles to seeing the legendary icons.

It’s on my bucket list on a personal level, as I was first getting into football right as these 2 were getting involved in their first teams. I believe I may have actually watched on TV the very game where Messi made his competitive debut, and as a young fan at this point I immediately became enthralled by his technical ability, and the initial YouTube compilations that followed. With Ronaldo, I must admit that I am a Manchester United fan, meaning that, as with Messi, I grew up watching this ‘iced tipped’ lad from Portugal transform into a monstrous player. As I have been a United fan from a very young age, the opportunities to watch Ronaldo in the flesh have been more available, however the opportunities to watch United play live in-person weren’t as possible as they may be nowadays. Additionally, the few games I have seen of United in the flesh, the superstar wasn’t involved.

Now, as an adult with the ability to travel to wherever I want, whenever I want, I MUST have this as a priority on my bucket list. This is one of the main things on every footballers bucket list, and unfortunately, it’s one of the things that is actually on a countdown, as the clock is sadly ticking away for these legends.

So, if that hasn’t already sold you on these greats, allow me to offer a brief overview of the careers of these World beaters. Once again, I will try and keep neutral on who I personally believe is the better player, and instead let’s just enjoy their greatness…

Messi…

Lionel Andrés Messi is one of the greatest sportsmen and footballers that the World has ever seen. The Argentine has been a phenomenon since he arrived on the main stage of Barcelona’s setup in the 74th minute of a friendly vs Porto, managed at this time by Jose Mourinho. At just 16 years, 4 months and 23 days old at this point, he impressed with his technical ability and managed to create 2 chances and got 1 shot on goal in this 15 minute preview of what was to come. It followed an immense rise through the ranks of one of the greatest academy setups around. Messi had jumped through a record 5 youth teams in a single season. In a training session with the first team, Ronaldinho famously stated how he expected the youngster to become a great and even better than himself.

Moving onto October 2004, Messi was promoted to the first team, where he was to compete with Ronaldinho for his place. Instead of picking between 2 greats, the fortunate Frank Rijkaard was able to play both, as he put Messi on the right flank, and made his league debut vs. rivals Espanyol. At 17 years and 3 months, Messi was at the time, the youngest player to represent Barcelona in a competitive match. It wasn’t however until May 2005, when Messi bagged his first ever goal (and became their youngest goalscorer) against Albacete. At the end of the season, Barcelona won the La Liga title, and Messi claimed his first (of many) trophies.

After this initial breakthrough, Messi became impossible to leave out of the first team squad, as he signed a pro contract with a buyout clause of £150million, and absolutely astronomical fee in that time. The trophies, goals and incredible performances continued on from that point with years of success and greatness. While we could break down every season and every performance with delight, time doesn’t quite allow that so, instead let’s wrap up the main points.

Messi has gone on to play 757 games for Barcelona’s first team, and bagged 651 goals in that time. He has an average of 38.29 goals per season, something that many players won’t get close to in their entire career. He has managed to score 30+ goals in the last 12 seasons, and will surely be 13 by the end of the current campaign. In 2011/2021 Messi was truly unstoppable and netted 73 goals in the 60 game season. Let’s just understand that stat for a second, Lionel Messi averaged over a goal a game, for a FULL SEASON, in which he played 60 games.

His honours for Barcelona are even more staggering than the individual accomplishments, as he has a total of 33 major trophy honours for Barcelona in his 17 years with the first team. This includes the 4 Champions League trophies, the 3 Super Cups, 3 Club World Cups and astonishing 10 La Liga titles.

His individual awards are again mind-blowing. It must feel for Leo Messi, that people are consistently handing him trophies and silverware for his achievements. According to Wikipedia’s records, Messi has a total of 134 individual trophies listed. Just astonishing, as he averages 8 individual awards per season. The highlights of these are surely the 6 Ballon d’Or awards, more than any other player in history. He hasn’t been out of the top 3 in this award since 2006 and the very early stages of his career. I am genuinely convinced that somewhere there is a storage locker packed full of trophies that Messi simply doesn’t have space to display.

Internationally, it has been a mixed bag for the great man. Arguably, this has been the only failure that Messi has undergone in this remarkable career. His predecessor, Maradona had such success for the Argentine side, that Messi failing to win any major awards or trophies for his national team means he will always be questioned. Individually however, he has still been superb for his country, with 165 appearances and 87 goals for the South American’s. Additionally, he did win the 2008 Olympic gold and a U-20 World Cup, however this isn’t quite what many would have predicted.

What is truly remarkable, and places him in higher regards than Ronaldo to many, is his personality and style of play. He has appeared to get on with his football and keep off-field issues away from the game. Admittedly, this is slipping currently as we are hearing publicly his disapproval of the hierarchy at Barcelona, however if you really break down what Messi is annoyed about, it is the poor running of the team he loves. Messi is a Barcelona legend, and it must surely take a lot for him to speak out at this late stage of his career, and so, while some will disapprove of his actions, he is still putting in quality performances and carrying the side through a difficult spell.

With the current contract dispute, and issues surrounding Barcelona, the likeliness of coming to English land permanently has never been higher. This means we could have Messi playing on our doorstep every week, however if this breaks the mystique and legacy of Messi at Barcelona, it may be a shame. I personally respected the ability to be a 1 club man, and unfortunately this may not quite be the case by the end of his career. However, if I get to witness the great man live, I may drop that opinion pretty quickly.

“Messi Is A Genius”

Diego Maradona

Ronaldo…

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro is one of the greatest sportsmen and footballers that the World has ever seen. The Portuguese attacker has become an icon both on-field and off-field, from his days of silky skills as a young teen for United, through to today where he is leading the line for Juventus and as determined as ever to continue winning trophies and scoring goals, until all records are broken. At 16 he broke through at Sporting Lisbon’s youth setup into the first team, similar to Luis Figo had done prior. He became the first player in the clubs’ history to play for the U-16 U-17 U-18 B-Team and First Team in a single season (I think we had a similar stat for Messi previously). On the 7th of October 2002, Ronaldo made his league debut for Sporting and the rest is history. Liverpool, Barcelona and Arsenal had all claimed to have interest in the young winger, however it was the infamous game against Manchester United in Lisbon where Ronaldo’s fate changed. In August 2003, Sporting battered Manchester United 3-1, and based on that performance, Sir Alex Ferguson stated that he not only wanted to sign Ronaldo, but also cancelled plans to loan him back to Sporting for the year and instead paid the £12.24 million to capture on of the “most exciting players” Fergie had ever seen.

From there, he developed from the boy into the man, as his career grew exponentially at Old Trafford, and became an icon to English football fans and many around the World. He claimed the infamous no.7 jersey at United, taking over from David Beckham, and received a standing ovation on his arrival and first team debut against Bolton Wanderers in August 2003, just days after his signing. George Best was quoted as saying this was “the most exciting debut” he had ever seen. From there, Ronaldo played 6 incredible seasons in which his performances grew exponentially and began the claims for Ronaldo becoming the best ever. In his 259 appearances for the Red Devils, he won the hearts of the fans for his brilliance, and the respect of rivals. He bagged 113 goals in this time and helped United win the Champions League in 2008, 10 years after their last success in the competition. Meanwhile, domestically they dominated, as Ronaldo helped the side to claim 3 consecutive league titles, 1 F.A. Cup, 2 League Cups and the Club World Cup. In 2009, he scored his last goal for United with a freekick in the City derby, won the Ballon d’Or and helped United to get to another Champions League final, only to lose out this time to the stunning Barcelona side. His move to Madrid made waves across the footballing World, as his transfer fee broke records, and the current World Player of the Year was on the move.

The £80 million move to Real Madrid showed the Spanish side were looking to catch up to their rivals Barcelona, and meant serious business. His contract was worth over £10 million a year and contained a £1 billion buy-out clause. His unveiling also had a record 80,000 fans in attendance, and admittedly as a United fan, broke my heart a little bit. In his first season for Madrid, it wasn’t the ideal start, as he suffered an injury which kept him side-lined for 7 weeks, and the season ended trophy less as they failed to match the great Barcelona side, despite Ronaldo’s 33 goals across the season. Things definitely picked up however, as Real got their money’s worth from the Portuguese attacker, as across the 9 seasons spent at the Spanish giants, Ronaldo played 438 games and scored 450 goals. That puts him at over 1 goal a game, for 9 straight years at the very, very top level. Additionally, he brought back the success that Madrid were at risk of losing, particularly in Europe, as despite Barcelona’s dominance and superb squad, Ronaldo led Madrid to claim 2 league titles, 2 Copa Del Rey titles and most importantly 4 Champions League trophies in a 5 year period. This European success has completely matched and if not overpowered Madrid in the battle with Barcelona. With Ronaldo leading their line, they have made the Champions League trophy their own, and pulled it out of the bag when it really counted. His spell at Madrid was superb and brought him some incredibly individual success. He showed he could perform at the top across leagues and on any stage, and his spell at Madrid meant he edged above Messi in many supporters opinions. He nabbed 4 Ballon d’Or awards to go alongside his first at United, and just 1 behind Leo. After becoming the first player to win 5 Champions League trophies in 2018, the speculation of him moving on grew and, again quite surprisingly we witnessed another huge transfer decision from Ronaldo, showing his desire to prove himself across the whole of Europe.

In 2018, he completed a 100 million euro’s transfer to the Italian giants, Juventus and immediately declared his desire to bring European success back to Italy. The country hadn’t had the Champions League success since the Mourinho treble in 2011, however this move showed that Juventus would do whatever it took to get the big-eared trophy. At time of writing, Ronaldo is into his 3rd season in Italy, and has already shown serious dominance, winning 2 league titles and 2 Supercoppa wins. Having now played 113 games for the Old Lady, he has bagged 88 goals and over the last campaign, he netted a record 37 goals across the season. Although his time at the top in Italy is far from over, now at 36 years of age, he is on a ticking timer to claim that Champions League trophy and cement his legacy at the 4th club of his career. This is something that will hang over him personally, until he is able to show his individual brilliance and rectify it. It will be an exciting few years to see if it can be done.

His career honours do match the brilliance of Messi, as he has a total of 661 career club goals from 876 appearances. He also has a packed silverware cabinet to house his 29 club trophies, and 117 individual accolades (from Wikipedia). The debate will rage on forever about comparing these legends, however Ronaldo’s ability to compete across Europe is truly spectacular.

Internationally, Ronaldo has been a real gem for Portugal, and brought them some serious International success in recent years. He captained his national side to the Euro’s in 2016, and also the inaugural UEFA Nations League in 2019. The question marks over international success in his legacy has been answered, and watching him almost manage the team in the Euro’s final shows how much the international success has played on his mind.

The personality is a lot more extravagant from Ronaldo, as he operates social media with aspirational posts of yachts and cars and other unachievable success. Additionally, he isn’t afraid of demonstrating his physical prowess. What this does however, is suggests he is mentally affected by claims of him getting past his best, and in a similar vein to Zlatan, is desperate to show he is physically capable, and almost aspiring to become ageless. It’s a personality that splits opinion significantly, and actually for many football fans, the arrogance has often put him out of favour. But either way, he is a true legend.

“When you play with Ronaldo on your team, you are already 1-0 up.”

Zinedine Zidane