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One of modern football's greatest debates, the one that replaced Diego Maradona vs Pele, the battle between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi is not one that only fans follow, even the big-wigs from footballing royalty can’t resist the sumptuous back and forth between the Argentine and the Portuguese nationals.
It’s exactly what BT Sport did when they gathered some of football’s best current and retired players to talk about who would they pick between the two best players in contemporary football the world has seen. 9 individuals including Robin van Persie, Michael Owen, Rio Ferdinand, Owen Hargreaves, Joe Hart, Steven Gerrard, David Luiz and 2 of BT Sport’s presenters and pundits Jake Humphrey and James Richardson.
Some went for the Barcelona star’s silky skills while others gravitated to the flexibility of Ronaldo’s game but they all applauded the way the duo have changed the way football is played and the outlook people now have towards the game. They’ve broken record after record and topping it all by consistently scoring nearly 40-50 goals every season, changing the face of football in the process.
Some of Ronaldo’s old team-mates like Rio Ferdinand were influenced by the fact that they witnessed the former Manchester United man in person while others like Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard were entranced by Messi’s magic.
The vote ended 6-3 in favour of the current UEFA Player of the Year as the majority swung largely towards his contributions for the club over the years and especially in their treble winning season last time around, but everyone who picked their players stressed how hard it was to decide that one was better than the other.
A Michael Owen said in the video, “If you ask 100 people, 50 would say Ronaldo, 50 would say Messi”.
Here’s the video:
