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Arriving at a general consensus for one deserving winner for the title of Greatest Player of All Time is a difficult matter, as subjective views, prejudices, and changing eras mean that settling on one player is almost impossible.
Notwithstanding, two players who are universally acclaimed as deserving winners of the GOAT tag are Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, and rightly so, as they have each attained extraordinary feats over the course of their respective careers.
Both men's track record and achievements are well documented and the fact that they have performed as direct rivals, contesting for the same individual and collective trophies over the last 15 years has pitted them against one another and forged what is unarguably the greatest individual sporting rivalry in history.
Given their extraterrestrial abilities, it comes as no surprise that the media, pundits, and especially fans are almost evenly split in their decisions over who the better player of the two is.
The Messi/Ronaldo diatribe has led to intense back-and-forths across social media and the internet, with sometimes far-reaching consequences.
While it might be difficult to successfully convince the other party that one is better than the other, Ronaldo just edges his rival slightly in his quest to be considered the best player of his generation.
In this piece, we shall be highlighting five reasons why Ronaldo is better than Messi.
#1 International success
With 34 major trophies won with Barcelona, Lionel Messi is the most successful player in the Catalans' history and he significantly thumps the 29 titles Cristiano Ronaldo has won across his spells with Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Juventus.
It is however on the international stage where Ronaldo has a significant edge over his great adversary, having captained Portugal to their first-ever major trophy when they won Euro 2016 and repeated the feat three years later at the maiden edition of the UEFA Nations League.
By contrast, Messi is yet to taste success on the international scene, despite being a part of highly talented Argentine squads over the years and was on the losing side in four major international finals, with three coming consecutively between 2014 and 2016.
Achieving success at both club and international level is a widely accepted criterion for being placed in the pantheons of the greatest of all time and the fact that Ronaldo has achieved on both stages places him on a higher pedestal than Messi.
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#2 Stepping up when it matters most
Both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are bonafide game-changers who have the innate ability to almost single-handedly decide the outcome of matches on their own.
Their respective teams have been beneficiaries of this unique trait over the years, with seemingly insurmountable obstacles scaled by virtue of the otherworldly performances of their star men.
This is particularly true for Ronaldo, with Real Madrid's recent domination of the Champions League directly traceable to the Portuguese icon's displays on the continent.
With 127 goals, Ronaldo is the record goalscorer in the Champions League and a majority of his goals have come in the crunch stages of the tournament.
Messi leads the way with 67 group stage goals compared to Ronaldo's 62, but that is where the comparison ends, as the Madeira native has turned into a man for the knockout rounds in the last few years.
The former Manchester United man is the record scorer of knockout goals, with 65 of his Champions League goals have come from the round of 16 onwards, compared to Messi's 48.
Most of the goals also came in spectacular individual performances that helped bail Real Madrid out when their backs were against the wall, with hat-tricks against Wolfsburg, Atletico Madrid, Juventus, and Bayern Munich all proving crucial to Los Blancos' record-breaking three-peat.
Even with Juventus, Ronaldo brought his A-game to the fore in the round of 16 in 2019 with another three-goal haul against Atletico Madrid to help the Bianconeri overturn a 2-0 first-leg deficit and eliminate a side that is notorious for its defensive rigidity.
On the international scene, Portugal is not left out, and Ronaldo has also shone brightly when needed.
It was his goals in the group stage of Euro 2016 that helped his nation squeeze through to the knockout round as one of the best losers en-route to winning the tournament, while he also scored all four goals against Sweden in the play-off to help Portugal achieve qualification for the 2014 World Cup.
In May 2019, he returned from an international hiatus to fire a hat-trick past Switzerland in the semi-final to help his nation make it to the final and even though he was quiet in the showpiece event, they would not have gotten as far as that without the output of their talisman.
In respect to Messi, he also has a repertoire of standout moments, but they are neither as frequent as Ronaldo's nor do they come on the biggest stages.
Most of his standout individual performances have come in less important fixtures and there are only a handful of legendary displays when it matters most, with his hat-trick away to Bolivia to help Argentina qualify for the 2018 World Cup the one that readily comes to mind.
Throughout his career, Ronaldo has proven to be a man for the big occasions and the big stages are generally what defines the career of legendary players and in light of his displays when it matters most, he deserves to be rated higher than Messi.
#3 The desire to prove himself in different competitions
Cristiano Ronaldo began his professional career at Sporting Lisbon and after a solitary season with the Portuguese side, a transfer to Manchester United followed.
Over the next six years at Old Trafford, Ronaldo played his way into being considered one of the greatest players in Manchester United's history and he was arguably the biggest contributor to the almost unprecedented success enjoyed by the Mancunians in this period.
A world-record transfer to Real Madrid was achieved in 2009 and when he departed the Bernabeu in 2018, there was no debating that he is the greatest player in the illustrious history of the great Spanish side.
A new chapter of his iconic career is being written at Juventus and while he might still have some way to go before achieving legendary status with the Bianconerri, judging by his antecedents, it is not impossible, and if he can inspire the Turin giants to a long-elusive Champions League trophy, he would become an all-time Juventus great.
By contrast, Lionel Messi has spent the entirety of his professional career in the safety of Barcelona and while he is undoubtedly the greatest player in the club's history, there are many who downplay his achievements simply because he has never left the shores of Spain.
History is littered with numerous players who are identified with just one club, Paolo Maldini with AC Milan, Gerd Muller with Bayern Munich, Francesco Totti with AS Roma, and even the greatest of them all, Pele with Santos. Hence, Messi's legacy is not entirely soiled by his failure to depart from Barcelona.
However, the fact that Ronaldo is willing to leave the comforts and safety nets at clubs where he is already established to prove himself all over in foreign lands and cultures is indicative of a deep-rooted survival instinct and this trait places him above Messi.
#4 He is a more complete player than Lionel Messi
Cristiano Ronaldo is a right-footed player, but over the years, he has worked on his weaker foot to the point that he is almost adept in its use, while he is also arguably the greatest header of a football in history.
A breakdown of Ronaldo's 700 goals for club and country reveals that 442 (63.1%) came with his dominant right foot, 129 (18.6%) with his left, and 127 (18.2%) with his head, while two were scored with other body parts.
This goes in stark contrast with Lionel Messi who is extremely reliant on his left foot, with a staggering 83.5% (501) of his first 600 goals for Barcelona coming with his dominant leg, while 14.1% (85), and just 9.1% (55) goals were scored with his weaker foot and head respectively.
While he might not yet be truly ambipedal as players like Ousmane Dembele and Santi Cazorla, Ronaldo is more comfortable with both feet than Messi.
In addition to his brilliance in the air and use of both feet, the 34-year-old is also in pristine physical shape and athleticism.
#5 His drive and determination to be the best
In terms of pure talent and footballing genius, Cristiano Ronaldo cannot light a candle to Lionel Messi's ability, or many others throughout history for that matter, but what he lacks in talent, the Portuguese international more than makes up for in drive and determination.
There is an abundance of stories highlighting Ronaldo's legendary work ethic, with teammates and coaches pointing out that he is usually the first at the training ground and the last to leave it.
Plenty of teammates have tried and failed to keep up with his training regime, while he also has strict dietary patterns that he follows to the letter.
This is in no way to suggest that Ronaldo is not talented, as there is only so far that hard work can take you without an iota of ability, but it is undeniable that hard work and dedication brought the five-time Ballon d'Or winner to the level he currently operates from.
By contrast, Lionel Messi is one of the most gifted players in history and few things give as much joy as watching him glide effortlessly across a lush green field with the ball seemingly glued to his feet.
The things Messi does with a football are almost unbelievable and the ease with which he does them shows that his talent in the game is at genius level.
Messi is so gifted that he is supposed to be playing at a different level to every other player in his generation, essentially as a god among men, but the fact that a mere mortal like Ronaldo was able to train his way to dine and wine at the same table with the gods is symbolic of how extraordinary a human being he is.
